"Puns are the lowest form of humor," Buddha taught. Or Oscar Levant. Or Jonathan Swift. Or someone; even mighty AI can't figure out who said it first.

Doesn't matter, because it's dead wrong.

How can puns be the lowest humor, when they're the most concise? When I grew up, funny men like Buddy Hackett or Flip Wilson based whole careers on telling actual jokes, requiring a story with a set-up and a main character and a narrative just to get to a punchline. Three to five minutes between laughs. But then came Rodney Dangerfield getting a laugh with every other concise line: "I told my wife she drew her eyebrows on too high. She looked surprised." "Two fish in a tank. One says to the other, 'How do you drive this thing?'"

I love puns for being dumb in clever ways. "Last night my wife and I were up all night arguing about which is the best vowel. I won." You simultaneously have to think about it a second, and when you get it, find yourself blurting, "That's so stupid!" If it were a meal, a chef would say "This amuse bouche balances tart and sweet; richness with acidity." But the layers of a pun? "That's so stupid!"

What's the fun of being an author if you can't enjoy wordplay? Father's Day is coming, which always makes me think of my dad and his cavalcade of groaners. I'll list a few below for fun. I think puns are a high form of humor.  Maybe we don't know who first called them the lowest form, because they were just kidding. But you won't hear me saying, "No pun intended." Intend your puns, you cowards! #

Why can't you trust an atom? Because they make up everything.

I went to the zoo, but all they had was one animal: a dog. It was a shih tzu.

I had decided not to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.

My wife says I need to start dieting. But in my defense, I've had a lot on my plate recently.

Can you list a country with no R in its name? No way.

What do you call a factory that makes products that are just okay? Satisfactory.

I superglued my thumb and forefinger. I'll be okay for awhile.