Humour is cruel by definition

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

I said, what happens if you get half way and 'wake up'. My husband turns to me and says, "you have to turn back".

To me, that's funny. No one is harmed by it and it's just plain funny.

But isn't the joke either (or both)

A.) The fire-walker in question is too stupid to know that halfway back is the same as halfway there, so we laugh at their foolishness
B.) The fire-walker is going to suffer the same amount of foot pain as they would have if they'd walked forward, so again we laugh at their pain/foolishness.

No one real is hurt, but you are still laughing at the idea that someone will not be having the happiest outcome possible (i.e., jump off the pathway to the side, end of fire-walking experience--not really so funny.)