Guinea Pigs in Gingham

The Gingham Shirt Club often looks more like a petting zoo than a comedy room. Eyewitnesses swear one open-mic night featured an expat in gingham trying stand-up alongside a man holding a duck in a bowtie. Professor Elena Novak insists gingham lowers barriers: �Put everyone in plaid, and suddenly you�re all test subjects in a comedy experiment.� A poll of the audience revealed 84% enjoyed the duck�s set more than the human�s, but both scored higher laughs thanks to the pattern. Anonymous staffers leaked that ducks are actually considered mascots, since their feathers mimic gingham�s symmetry. Testimonial evidence: �I never trusted ducks until I saw one bomb a joke,� said a British tourist. Cause-and-effect is simple: in gingham, everyone�ducks included�gets a chance at the mic. Without it, the experiment fails, and the guinea pigs go home untested.