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Sight gag)
In comedy, a Sight Gag is anything which conveys its humour visually, often without words being used at all.
Sight gags are often used in surreal comedy, with many Monty Python's Flying Circus sketches making use of them, such as the "Mrs Gorilla" sketch in which a series of middle-aged women have been shopping and bought piston engines. Likewise, many elements of the "Hell's Grannies" sketch, featuring Keep Left signs attacking passersby, are sight gags.
As Rowan Atkinson explains in his lecture Funny Business , an object or a person can become funny in three different ways. They are:
- By being in an unusual place
- By behaving in an unusual way
- By being the wrong size
Most sight gags fit into one or more of these categories.
