This past summer, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards teamed up with Studio 360 to present Funny Ha Ha!: The High School Humor Challenge. We received hundreds of hilarious submissions from teens across the country and spent several laughter-filled weeks selecting the finalists. Guest judge BJ Novak chose the winner, Emma Callahan, age 16, and Studio 360 took some time to talk with Emma about her submission. Here are the other nine pieces that made into our Top Ten. Enjoy!
Runner-Up
Dylan, Age 17
Title: Gwendolyn
The sun rose and everything fell. The dam that had kept his emotions pent up for so long collapsed in the mind of Alexander Q., unleashing a tidal wave of desire. He made his decision that morning: he would finally propose to Gwendolyn. The only problem was that Gwendolyn was a houseplant. MORE
The following entries, in no particular order, made it into our top-ten final picks:
Riley, Age 18:
The sun rose and everything fell. The news channels had been predicting the fall for some time, but now that it was here, no one knew what to do. A civilized, modern society, forced to live without an Internet connection. It was unthinkable! It was preposterous! What would they do without their online shopping carts and games of Clash of Clans? What would they do without their Netflix? MORE
Raymond, Age 17:
The sun rose and everything fell. The month was April and the year was 2065. The time was 6:45 pm. And, if I recall correctly, the soup of the day was chowder.
Every newspaper was printing the same story using different words. Days earlier, U.S. President Richard Butchkins announced his infamous War on Aliens. Billions upon billions of dollars were being spent on defenses against any outer-space life forms. MORE
Cathleen, Age 15:
The sun rose and everything fell. There went a perfect date for Alex the werewolf. She had spent the entire evening chatting up this wolf who vaguely reminded her of Nicholas Cage. (But in a good way, like a refined Nicholas Cage-esque wolf. You know, kind grungy-looking, but with an unnamed redeeming quality that you can’t seem to figure out, but know is there.) They went to this spot in the woods where the trees and stars touched and the moon could be admired in full. For dinner, they both hunted down some lightly marinated rodent and bird a la carte. Her date even had a great sense of humor: ’’Waiter, there’s a hare in my moose’s digestive tract!” MORE
Clare, Age 17
“The sun rose and everything fell. With the barriers of yesteryear dismantled, a new day proves to make anew a young scholar.” – Alexander Q. Weebleton (founder of Weebleton University), 1912
Greetings prospective students! I’m Clarence Hoffman, director of admissions at Weebleton University, and I’m here to reiterate the many opportunities the University offers. Weebleton was founded in 1912 by Alexander Q. Weebleton as a school for double-jointed males. Weebleton has since grown to accept admission from all males, and, as of 1980, even females! MORE
Asher, Age 16
The sun rose and everything fell. By the time the first beams of light had illuminated the east coast, it was too late. It was March 18, 2016: a date which would live in infamy if it hadn’t already killed everyone. But the strange thing about the end of the world was that it wasn’t caused by just one event. MORE
Sara, Age 17
The sun rose and everything fell. Specifically unicorns from a massive tsunami. That’s how the final scene in Unicornami–a spin-off movie of the successful Sharknado series–rolls out before fading to black. This exhilarating cliffhanger is meant to keep viewers excited for the release of Unicornami 2: The Next One, which is set to come to theaters in the summer of 2017. Critics are especially thrilled that the two main actresses–North West (Kimye’s daughter) and Hannah Montana (NOT Miley Cyrus)–have already signed on to star in the sequel. Rolling Stone magazine raves, “Amazing acting! West and Montana are like breaths of fresh air after smelling a colossal pile of unicorn poop.” MORE
Eileen, Age 15
Title: Lessons on Dying: Making Sure People Attend Your Funeral, and Other Things
“The sun rose and everything fell,” Alex said.
“Oh my Lord, he is being overly dramatic,” the angel next to him said.
Alex paused. What was this guy’s problem? Just because he has a fancy halo and a pair of white wings doesn’t mean he’s got some sort of moral high ground or anything. MORE
Charlie, Age 15
The sun rose and everything fell. The sentence sat under a fat header. A red pen flew down upon the paper and went to work. When finished, the controller of the pen-holding hand looked up at the boy.
“What is a sun rose?”
“Huh?”
“What is a sun rose? Is it a type of flower?” MORE
For more humorous stories, check out the rest of the entries. Be prepared to laugh!