It seems ironic that there’s really nothing amusing about bumping your funny bone which is the ulnar nerve, one of the largest unprotected nerves in the human body running along the ulnar collateral ligament. How it got associated with laughter might have been a play on the words “humorous” and humerus, which is the big bone in your arm. Either way it’s usually not laughter that spews out of your mouth when you bang your elbow while it’s in a flexed position.

But enough with the anatomy lesson, this is about applications that are really funny and don’t involve electric shocks running up your arm, unless you’re into that kind of thing. These are apps that are good for killing a few minutes, maybe taking quick break when things are getting stressful at work or to pick up a slow-moving get together with friends.  Life is better when you can take a minute and laugh.

It’s tough to narrow it down to just five of anything in the fast moving Android application market, especially one where fashion can make what’s hot today turn not so hot tomorrow. Consequently, I looked for the funny and highest rated, rather than those that appealed to my somewhat cynical and jaded sense of humor.

LOL Pics by Tap Tap Entertainment

The pictures range from locker room humor to the subtle and cerebral, heavy on both cats and Chuck Norris visual jokes. It compiles pics from many of the web’s top funny picture sites and allows you to choose by category or upload your own funny pics to see if the rest of the world shares your perverse sense of humor.

Funny Jokes by Swiss Codemonkeys

There are, literally, tens of thousands of jokes at this site from every imaginable genre. You can mark your favorites, upload your own jokes and tag those that either spam or inappropriate. The draw of FJ is more than the humor, though there’s plenty of that, it’s also the community. Some of the users have complained of late that site is increasingly drawing trolls and the less savory elements of the internet but it’s still funny.

Fat Booth by PIVI and Co

Anytime you get tired of diet and exercise just whip out your copy of Fat Booth to see what you’ll look like with a few extra pounds. It can also lighten up a party but just be aware that a lot of people wrestle with body image issues. Have fun but don’t use it to be mean. The same company also makes Stash Booth and Old Booth, if you’re looking for an app you can deploy a little more freely in social occasions.

Funny Kid Cams by PhotoMobileApps

Because the only thing better than dressing your kids up in dorky costumes and taking pictures of them is being able to skip buying the costume! Funny Kid Cams is pure gold for building up a collection of blackmail photos you can use to maintain your grip over them through the rebellious teenage years. Sure you can smoke if you don’t mind me posting this picture of you as a cute little pea pod on Facebook. You don’t mind me doing that, right?

18,000 Cool Jokes by Cramzy

Another huge joke sites on every imaginable subject in hundreds of categories. Don’t open this app unless you have at least 10 minutes on your hands because it tends to be addicting. The strength of this app are the regular updates and categorization on just about any topic you can imagine. The app will also rate jokes on a daily, weekly and monthly basis so you can see what’s trending in humor.

And there you have it, five easy ways to raise the value of the humor variable in your life equation.  After all, laughter is the ultimate defense mechanism against the crazy.