Sometimes while at work or in the middle of a bustling busy day, people find themselves taking a few moments to open up their personal email files. And all of a sudden, they are laughing and guffawing so loudly. It's one of those funny forwards and they are so hilarious sometimes! They also serve a wonderful purpose.

Funny emails come in a wide variety. They can be made up of pictures. Sometimes people take pictures of kittens, puppies or babies and put them together on a page, with a humorous or uplifting message for people to read. There might be a link to the page in the forward, or the page will be embedded into the email itself. Pictures can also be directly embedded in an email forward, because many programs allow a lot of customization to an individual email. Words can be in different fonts and colours and images can be placed in the right spots.

Pictures inside funny forwards can often include photo manipulated images. They might include a joke or a funny saying. Hopefully all of them tell you who created the image, so the right person can get credit! Either way, they're meant light heartedly to make people smile.

There are many videos that are popular and always get a laugh. Sometimes when we get funny forwards, we find one of them linked or embedded in the letter. The crazy kid running around with a bat who finds a way to slam the toy home in Dad's groin. And everybody gets a laugh out of the 'interacial' pet videos! What about the most horrible karaoke possible? People caught singing in the shower, on the toilet. The infamous video of the little bulldog pushing himself along on the skateboard garners more than just a smile some days.

Kids say the darndest things and sometimes those are included by their parents or family members in funny forwards. People also like to talk about the practical jokes they've played on others, hoping to show everyone how it's done or just to get a rise out of the person they tricked. Funny forwards can also turn into ways to reconnect with people you've lost touch with. You can't help but scan the list of emails someone has included and see who you know, who knows you. And who you haven't talked to for some time. Some funny forwards come from people just like that, who want you to hit 'reply' and send them back some words about how much you laughed.

One thing that most people forget is how to respect a person's privacy when it comes to email. It isn't very hard to use the BCC or blind carbon copy option rather than the typical CC when we are sending out funny forwards. BCC is a very easy way to show people you are respectful of their privacy and their right to keep their email address to themselves. It makes your friends and family feel just a bit safer. And you still get to send them that laugh inducing funny forward!

Besides being things we can share with friends and family, forwards can also be shared with other purposes. What we see in the news or hear about talking at the water cooler or in the lunch room often makes great fodder for funny forwards. Politics, while something people think they should avoid talking about at the dinner table, can cause some real side splitting laugh sessions. Puzzles and brain teasers are also a delight, something else to make people giggle or chuckle and take their minds off hard days. And it's also true that some funny forwards are laughable while also giving a person something really heady or potent to think about.

A lot of people almost seem to need funny forwards. Getting one a day from a free website that allows people to sign up is nice. Some people open their email up as soon as they sit down to a computer. And it is a good feeling to start the day with, seeing something a friend or family member has sent to you and others they care about. Something that makes you feel warm inside, makes you giggle or laugh out loud. Just be careful and don't join the "Fired Because of Funny Email Forwards" club!