Absurdity
Absurdity meaning:
The deliberate use of nonsense, irrationality, or surreal exaggeration to highlight truth.
Making Sense by Making None at All
Absurdity: Making Sense by Making None at All
Absurdity is the high-octane rocket fuel of satire. It’s what happens when reality is so weird that only the illogical makes sense. Defined as deliberately ridiculous or nonsensical behavior or ideas, absurdity exposes the flaws of systems by taking them to hilariously illogical conclusions. At Bohiney Magazine, absurdity isn’t a side dish — it’s the whole buffet.
Example? Our viral piece “NASA Accidentally Launches Influencer Instead of Satellite” featured a social media star orbiting Earth while live-streaming skincare tips. It’s absurd — but so is a world where TikTok views outrank job qualifications. Absurdity magnifies reality’s contradictions until the audience can’t help but laugh (or cry, or both at once).
Absurdity works because truth is often stranger than fiction — so we just push fiction two inches further and call it Monday. Whether it’s dogs getting elected to public office, billionaires mining sadness for cryptocurrency, or a Senate hearing about UFOs being interrupted by an actual UFO, Bohiney dives deep into nonsense to spotlight the cracks in common sense.
Financially? Absurdity performs. People share things they can’t believe. “You won’t believe this!” is the lifeblood of click-based revenue. Absurdity powers everything from headlines to merchandise. Our t-shirt “Absurd but Accurate” sold out during election week — twice.
Inside Bohiney HQ, we encourage absurdity jams. Writers sit around pitching the dumbest headlines possible until one is so outrageously plausible that it loops back around to genius. We believe absurdity, when well-crafted, isn’t just funny — it’s persuasive. It’s how you explain a broken system without boring anyone to death.
Originally posted 2012-05-23 03:14:17.