Some boffins at the University of Hertfordshire have recently carried out some research to find the funniest joke in the world. 47% of the 100,000 or so people who took part in the on-line experiment rated this the the top joke...

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go camping and pitch their tent under the stars.

During the night, Holmes wakes his companion and says: "Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce"

Watson says: " I see millions of stars and, even if a few of those have planets, its quite likely there are some planets like Earth and if their are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life."

Holmes replies: "Watson, you idiot. Somebody stole our tent...."

The research also identified these as the tops jokes from each of the following countries:

Germany

Why is Television called a medium?

Because it is neither rare or well done.

France

Absolutely! what's the second question.

Belgium

There are basically three kinds of people in the world. Those who can count and those that can't.

Sweden

A Guy phones a Hospital and yells: "You've gotta help! My wife's in labour!"

The nurse says: "Calm down. Is this her first child?"

He replies: "No! This is her husband!"

Canada

What do you call s woman who can balance four pints of beer on her head?

Beatrix