A Sunday Funny:

Why Does A “Documentary” About The Origins Of State Abbreviations Make Me Laugh?

Another in an occasional series on things that never fail to crack me up, for reasons I can never fully explain

Ask any comic or comedy writer and they will confirm:

Humorous inspiration can often be found hiding in plain sight.

In your junk drawer, perhaps. In full view, masquerading as a simple, misplaced utility bill.

‘AL:’ For the record, that would be ‘Alabama.’ Not ‘Alaska.’

OK, enough pregaming. Let me just ask you this:

When was the last time you thought about US state abbreviations? Like, really thought about them?

Me, too: Somewhere on this side of “never.”

But have no fear. Somebody else was:

Comedian Gary Gulman somehow found hilarity in one of the dullest examples of bureaucratic Americana: the Two-Letter State Abbreviation.

Watching him relate how “Colorado” got the logical “CO,” while poor “Connecticut” was relegated to “CT” makes me laugh more than many slickly produced streaming Stand-Up Specials.

Gary Gulman is a Boston native.

After working as a scholarship college football player and an accountant, he was a substitute teacher, all before becoming one of America’s most appreciated ‘cerebral’ stand-up comedians.

Gulman has built a comedy career on finding humor in the most pedestrian details of everyday life.

His routine about Postal Service abbreviations first gained widespread attention on Conan in 2016.

The material took him almost 22 years to fully develop. As Gulman has explained:

“I first had the premise, which was, ‘Gee, a lot of states start off with the same first two letters.”

The concept itself is deceptively simple: Gulman had imagined listening in on a 1963 meeting where US Postal Service officials met to formally assign two-letter abbreviations to all 50 states. It was a truly original and fun idea.

And then… nothing. For years.

“Every once in a while, I’d pull [the routine] off the shelf and rework it and add a line. But I could never find an ending or structure to that joke,”

The piece sat in comedy purgatory for nearly two decades. While it was a solid foundation for a bit, Gulman couldn’t quite find the angle to make it work.

The breakthrough came when Gary considered the potential of documentary-style framing.

He was inspired by scholarly examination about “small and offbeat things,” like a real film about the Helvetica typeface font.

Gulman realized that he might have a success if he were to present his postal premise as if it were based on an actual documentary.

“One night I thought, “What if I do that thing that never works? The ‘abbreviations’ thing?

“What if I try this and tell the people it was a documentary?”

This was not only clever packaging, it was a discovery of the missing structural element.

Gulman had cracked a code, of sorts. He found a way to transform the micro-observations into a cohesive narrative.

So: What’s So Funny About It?  

Now, finally, back to the original question: why does this make me laugh? I think I’ve figured out why.

Watching someone find drama in something so undramatic is hilarious.

With Ken Burns-level seriousness, Gulman turns administrative tedium into office-politics gold.

Anyone who ever had a day job can relate.

And the tangential flourishes are delightful:

Dotty? An out-of-nowhere omelet chef detour? The Master Contractor? All are present and accounted for, just waiting for their moment in the bureaucratic sun.

It’s performance art in disguise—a solo docudrama about the dullest decision in U.S. history, made oddly compelling.

But more than anything, it’s watching a comic totally in his zone. Gulman isn’t just telling jokes, he’s into the mess he’s created. His delight becomes yours.

You genuinely have a dog in the fight, and find yourself invested in whether it’s going to be Massachusetts, Maryland or Maine that’s going to get the coveted “MA.”

Gulman found comedy in something we all recognize: a system so arbitrary it feels like it was built by someone having a breakdown.

Gary Gulman’s State Abbreviations routine is a six-minute masterclass in finding comedy in the ordinary.

It proves that sharp humor doesn’t always have to push and test boundaries. The genuine laughs in our lives frequently lurk in our ordinary experiences – if we choose to look for them.

The bit lives on YouTube, where millions have quietly watched a man unravel over dual-letter combinations.

As we all know, comedy is subjective. But this kills me. See if you agree:

Thanks for reading. Sorry, but I have to go.

I have a breakfast meetup with a certain clerical randy minx.

And I’m especially looking forward to the holiday sauce on the side.

What seemingly mundane topic do you think deserves the Gary Gulman treatment? The invention of the QWERTY keyboard? The decision to make stop signs octagonal? Share your thoughts in the comment below, and remember: there’s comedy gold hiding in the most unexpected places.