You had me at knock-knock....

Forget bulging pecs and fast cars. Never mind those college basketball stats and varsity letters. Nerdy women dig funny men. It's just a fact of life.

Yup, if you're like me (and I know I am*), no characteristic is more important than a sense of humor in a gentleman friend. Half the reason I fell in love with my husband was because he could perfectly recreate a Kids In the Hall sketch involving food stuck to the side of his face. And six years into our marriage, all fights are forgiven when he impersonates the cat and talks in a funny voice about how she likes to get high. (She doesn't really get high. She's Mormon.)

I was thinking about all this when sifting through the Nerd Man of the Month nominees and noted how many of the nominees and winners are guys who ply the comedy trade: Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Eddie Izzard, Joss Whedon, John Hodgman, Stephen Fry, Simon Pegg...basically, everyone. Why? Because funny guys are smart guys and they can make us laugh. And as everyone knows, laughing, like sneezing, always feels good.

If I ever have a daughter and she asks for my advice on dating before she heads off to college (every mother I know is laughing at that one right now), I'm going to tell her, "Estelle, look for the funny guys." (Yes, I'm going to name her Estelle so I can pretend from the moment of her birth that she's at least 45 years older than me, and I'm still the youngest woman in the house. It's messed up, I know.) I'll tell her to stay away from the frat parties and the Rocks for Jocks classes and find some guys to make her laugh. "Why?" Estelle will ask in her old lady voice. (I'll have been giving her stogies since Pre-K.) I'll tell her it's because funny guys are nice guys, and they'll keep you entertained. And perhaps best of all? They're likely self-effacing enough not to be snooty.

What does this post have to do with anything? Well, one, it shows that if you want to be Nerd Man of the Month, you better have some good jokes lined up, preferably ones that involve how to stop elephants from charging. And two, it's just a friendly reminder that those funny guys who sit in the back of class -- or these days, in the back of those mind-numbing marketing meetings -- are probably the cream of the crop. And if they ever slip you a clown shoe with their number on it, you should consider giving 'em a call.

* That is one of my all-time favorite Mystery Science Theater jokes.