Hilarious in Hindsight

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A Recursive Translation said it first.

"Everything is funnier in retrospect, funnier and prettier and cooler. You can laugh at anything from far enough away." —Chuck Palahniuk

Funny Aneurysm Moment is when events, either external or within a series, turn a joke into something disturbing, upsetting, or at the very least really uncomfortable. Harsher in Hindsight is when a tragic and serious event was made only more so.

This is the opposite. It's when a later event, such as a current event or something that happened in the series, contrives to make something funnier than it originally was. This is what your literature teacher would call "Life imitating Art". There's a decent list in this College Humor feature and another one in this Cracked.com feature.

Note this is not merely something that seemingly predicts something else. For example, black US presidents in fictions are not this trope. A black US president in fiction who has an unfortunate middle name would be.

Also note that some examples that might not seem funny to one, might seem funny to another. It depends on attitudes towards Dead Baby Comedy and Gallows Humor.

Additionally, "hilarious" doesn't just mean "BLAH-HAH-HAH! gut-busting," either. If you go by the word's original definition, it can mean "amusing" or "charming" as well. So any belated lighthearted coincidence would fit under this trope.

Almost all examples of Having a Gay Old Time are an example of this trope.

Compare Fridge Brilliance, Heartwarming in Hindsight.

Contrast Funny Aneurysm Moment, Dude, Not Funny, Harsher in Hindsight, Heartbreaking in Hindsight.

Examples of Hilarious in Hindsight are listed on these subpages:

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