I started studying humor before I could read. You never know what will hit people right. People love to laugh at tragedy, so my first front page meme was the y u no guy asking the Grim Reaper why he hadn't come for Justin Beiber. Number two spot for several days. At the same time, I did a retrospect of the celebs we'd lost that year. It only made it to the top of page two, but like the Beiber, it hung in there for several days. The reason it did that good was I made it personal by putting in the title that the entertainer I'll miss the most is my little brother.
Humor and pathos work well together. When Keystone was grinding out reel after reel of pure slapstick, Charlie Chaplin was taking a little more time and adding pathos to his comedies. They made the Little Tramp a legend by giving him a human quality.