I’ve noticed that the merest mention of a banana in a comedy-safe situation is enough to provoke tears of almost hysterical laughter in any reader, owing to this fruit’s extreme comic potential index (CPI) of 10.0. Socks also score a perfect 10.0, but tennis racquets are only about 3.6 and electric sanding discs rate 0.4. Data supplied by the Invisibulian Institute of Statistical Information (who rate themselves at 0.0 CPI ± 0.2).