Why We’re Just Normal Men is the best comedy account on Twitter
It has taken me almost a year to come across the best comedy account left on Twitter.
While the glory days of conceptual Twitter comedy appear to have passed, sometimes an account appears on your radar that still has the ability to floor you. We’re Just Normal Men is one of those accounts.
Classics accounts from throughout the ages of Twitter include the peerless @CatBinLady, a parody of the Coventry woman Mary Bale, who was filmed pushing a neighbour’s cat into a wheelie bin. The account imagined her as a woman unable to control her socially inappropriate urges in a series of domestic situations, often alongside her long-suffering friend Brenda.
One post from its 2011 heyday reads: “Invited Brenda round for a Sunday roast. Went well. She didn’t finish her dessert so I poured it into her handbag. She can have it later.”
Another favourite was Pret L’Etranger (@PretEtranger), which imagines existentialist philosopher Albert Camus visiting Pret A Manger, resulting in tweets such as this: “Every lunchtime the same. An empty box full of leaves and chicken. Olives. Dressing. This is a life indistinguishable from death.”
This week @WeJustNormalMen appeared on my timeline. Started in May 2022, it’s essentially a celebration of a 2016 clip from CBBC featuring presenter Lauren Layfield struggling to keep it together as she speaks to the canine puppet Hacker T Dog.
“We’re just normal men,” says the puppet.
“What do you mean, normal men,” says Layfield, already starting to lose it.
“We’re just innocent men,” replies the dog, sending Layfield into fits of laughter.
There’s something wonderful about the juxtaposition of Layfield in stitches and the expressionless, beady eyes of the puppet.
She then attempts to sign off the show only to double up again, leaving the puppet to finish off her lines.
The @WeJustNormalMen account tweets the clip every Monday morning, a little present to ease you into the week. It hasn’t failed to make me laugh yet.
There are, of course, no shortage of amazing comedians on Twitter but they tend to write actual jokes, albeit sculpted especially for social media. Some City PM favourites include Steven (with a ph), AKA @SJKSalisbury, and @sixthformpoet.