New Westminster, BC – Local data analyst Mack Watson, known around work as the office funny guy, is hiding a secret behind his water cooler witticisms – his entire sense of humour comes from the podcast Comedy Bang Bang.
“I didn’t mean to steal any jokes,” Watson explains. “Listening to Comedy Bang Bang just opened up parts of my brain I’d never experienced before. Like taking the Limitless pill. Suddenly I was funny.”
The whole thing started at the company picnic when Watson casually quipped, “What’s up, hot dog?” and everyone found it really, really funny even without context. It started to spiral from there.
“It was just one time (one time),” says Watson. “But now I’m parroting the best moments from every episode. That’s okay, right? I’m just like a TikTok compilation. Everybody loves TikTok compilations!”
Some of Watson’s most popular characters include Werner Herzog (even though he doesn’t know who that is), Little Button Puss (until HR made him stop), and Mike the Janitor (if only because there is actually a janitor named Mike at the office).
“We were all talking about iPhones, and Mack said ‘iPod? iPad? I don’t know anymore!’ It was so funny,” says coworker Elaine Michaels. “He just sees the world differently than the rest of us.”
However, Watson knows the truth. He sees the world exactly the same way as improv comedians like Paul F. Tompkins, Jason Mantzoukas, Lauren Lapkus, and, of course, Comedy Bang Bang host Scott Aukerman.
“If there were a Mount Rushmore of office funny guys, Mack Thomson would NOT be on it,” says Aukerman. “And I would know. I’m the funny guy at my office.”
Watson has tried switching up his material, but ultimately, his coworkers just want to hear him recycle old bits from Comedy Bang Bang – even if they don’t know it.
“One time I tried doing “The Bones Are Their Money” from I Think You Should Leave,” says Watson. “But I guess that was too niche.”
