{"id":942,"date":"2018-11-24T07:01:15","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T12:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=942"},"modified":"2018-11-23T13:48:43","modified_gmt":"2018-11-23T18:48:43","slug":"a-reader-asks-why-are-so-many-people-from-boston-so-quick-witted-and-quippy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/24\/a-reader-asks-why-are-so-many-people-from-boston-so-quick-witted-and-quippy\/","title":{"rendered":"A reader asks: Why are so many people from Boston so quick-witted and quippy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: Why are so many people from Boston so quick-witted and quippy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Overlooking that you forgot to add “handsome, intelligent, and saintly,” I’ll try to answer your question: I think it’s the local emphasis on education.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boston’s culture is in part the result of over 400 years of continual investment in education, as explained a bit more in another post, “Why does Boston have so many universities compared to other cities?<\/a>”<\/p>\n

During the school year, about a fourth of Boston’s population is made up of college and university students — that’s a huge percentage! This has a pronounced effect on local culture. And the effects are lasting: Some 46% of Boston residents have college degrees or higher, compared to a national average of around 32%.<\/p>\n

This has effects in every field — including comedy. A Redditor, ihammers<\/a>, compiled a list of notable comedians from here. The list may not be complete, but it gives you the idea:<\/p>\n

Boston Area Born and\/or Raised:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Burr- Canton
\nLouis C.K.- Newton
\nDoug Stanhope- Worcester
\nJay Leno- Andover
\nConan O\u2019Brien- Brookline
\nSteve Carell- Acton
\nPete Holmes- Lexington
\nPatrice O\u2019Neal- Roxbury
\nSteven Wright- Cambridge
\nMike Birbiglia- Shrewsbury
\nJoe Rogan- Newton
\nBo Burnham- Hamilton
\nDane Cook- Arlington
\nDenis Leary- Worcester
\nGary Gulman- Peabody
\nAmy Poehler- Burlington
\nEugene Mirman- Lexington
\nLenny Clarke- Cambridge
\nBJ Novak- Newton
\nSteve Sweeney- Charlestown
\nMindy Paling- Cambridge
\nMatt LeBlanc- Newton
\nJohn Krasinski- Newton
\nBryan Callen- Gill
\nRobert Carlock- Waltham
\nRob Corey- Weymouth
\nRob Delaney- Marblehead
\nNick Di Paolo- Danvers
\nRachel Dratch- Lexington
\nChristian Finnegan- Acton
\nPenn Jillette- Greenfield
\nRobert Kelly- Boston
\nJen Kirkman- Needham
\nJason Mantzoukas- Lynn
\nPaula Poundstone- Sudbury
\nJenny Slate- Milton
\nJimmy Tingle- Cambridge
\nDana Gould- Hopedale<\/p>\n

Attended college\/university here:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harvard: <\/strong>Greg Giraldo, Lisa Lampanelli, Rashida Jones, Colin Jost, Mo Rocca, Steve Zahn<\/p>\n

Emerson: <\/strong>David Cross, Harris Wittels, Joe Mande, Iliza Shlesinger, Eddie Brill<\/p>\n

Boston University: <\/strong>Howard Stern, Rosie O\u2019Donnell, Jason Alexander, Paul Reubens, Marc Aaron<\/p>\n

Berklee: <\/strong>Eric Andre<\/p>\n

BC: <\/strong>Camerson Esposito<\/p>\n

Northeastern: <\/strong>Jane Curtain<\/p>\n

Tufts: <\/strong>Hank Azaria<\/p>\n

I guess we’ll have to wait for the list of “handsome, intelligent, and saintly” Bostonians. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Permalink: https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-fc<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/small><\/small><\/p>\n

\n

Want free notification of new content like this? Click here<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a comment? Want to ask Fred a new question? Click here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q: Why are so many people from Boston so quick-witted and quippy? A: Overlooking that you forgot to add “handsome, intelligent, and saintly,” I’ll try to answer your question: I think it’s the local emphasis on education. Boston’s culture is in part the result of over 400 years of continual investment in education, as explained…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-around-boston","category-humor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-fc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":945,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/04\/a-reader-asks-why-does-boston-have-so-many-universities-compared-to-other-cities\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":0},"title":"A reader asks: Why does Boston have so many universities compared to other cities?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-11-04","format":false,"excerpt":"A reader asks: \"Why does Boston have so many universities compared to other cities?\" Boston benefits from almost 400 years of continual investment in education. For example, Harvard University was founded in 1636, just six years after Boston itself. That wasn\u2019t an accident: From its founding, up to the American\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1471,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/23\/a-reader-asks-why-are-the-squirrels-in-boston-common-so-fat\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":1},"title":"A reader asks: “Why are the squirrels in Boston Common so fat?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-12-23","format":false,"excerpt":"They are exceedingly well fed. Boston hosts something around 20 million visitors each year. About 3 million of them walk the Freedom Trail, which starts at Boston Common. There also are many public events in the Common \u2014 concerts, fireworks, festivals, political gatherings, celebrations, etc. \u2014 throughout the year, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1966,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/10\/around-boston-the-nearly-snowless-winter-continues\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":2},"title":"Around Boston: The nearly snowless winter continues","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-02-10","format":false,"excerpt":"Boston, seen recently from Waitt's Mount Boston's 2018-19 winter has been warmer and wetter than normal. There's been some serious cold, but not too much; and a little snow and ice, but mostly liquid rain. It's simultaneously convenient, and disturbing. 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Accident rates in Boston go up in the rain \u2014 just as they do in every other location on the planet. I'm not sure what else you\u2019d expect when roads get slippery and visibility goes down! I'm guessing that what you're really getting at is the poor\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1195,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/01\/a-reader-asks-why-havent-chicago-new-york-and-boston-produced-tech-hubs-like-silicon-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":4},"title":"A reader asks: Why haven’t Chicago, New York, and Boston produced tech hubs like Silicon Valley?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2018-12-01","format":false,"excerpt":"Q. Why haven't Chicago, New York, and Boston produced tech hubs like Silicon Valley? (via Quora) A: Ha! Boston has been and still is a major tech hub. In fact, Boston was the US's first, and thus is also its oldest high-tech hub, starting all the way back with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A reader asks..."","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1760,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/03\/why-is-there-no-a-branch-on-bostons-green-line-subway\/","url_meta":{"origin":942,"position":5},"title":"“Why is there no ‘A’ Branch on Boston’s Green Line transit?”","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-02-03","format":false,"excerpt":"Boston's street-level, light-rail, \"Green Line\" has B, C, D, and E Branches. Reader Kevin McCullough* asks: \"Why is there no 'A' Branch,\" There was, originally. It ran to Watertown and incorporated some of the oldest street-transit lines in Boston, dating back to pre-electric, horse-drawn streetcars. 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