Below is an article I wrote that describes some of the fun things I learn while doing shows for corporations. I research the company, take tours, and interview employees. I learn some really cool stuff about all sorts of things. . .

WOOD IN MY GRAPE NUTS?
By Comedienne Jan McInnis

Okay, maybe not Grape Nuts, but wood is used in lots of stuff, including some cereals! And Cellulose is not the reason I don't wear a bathing suit, it's actually a part of the wood. These are some of the millions of facts that not only make me great at cocktail party conversation, but give me unique comedy material for shows like the one I did for the Virginia Forest Products. As a comedienne, I've learned about industries from mushroom growers to dry bean manufacturers, as I research the clients to customize the show. Sure my act focuses on my past crazy jobs, BUT I also get to find out about other people's crazy jobs. . . which makes me feel better about my crazy job.

Like alfalfa seed producers who rely on leaf cutter bees to pollinate the flowers that make the alfalfa seeds, which are sold to the growers who grow alfalfa for the farmers to feed it to their cows and bring us steak. I learned all about it at, you guessed it, the Alfalfa Seed Growers convention. Having a tough day? Just try paying a mortgage based on getting leaf cutter bees "in the mood." It's big, big, serious, serious business.

Now if you're looking for a seeing-eye dog, may I suggest the women's prison in Topeka, Kansas. Yep, that's where many of them get trained. My tour during the Kansas Correctional Association conference revealed that the best prisoners, (an oxymoron?), get to train a dog . . . I'm guessing to beg, rollover, and fetch the guards keys?

And had I not taken the plunge into comedy 10+ years ago, but rather kept my safe marketing job, I wouldn't know that a valve on a nuclear reactor will last 30 years, or that the first type of anestisgiolgy was actually chloroform. Chloroform??? No wonder our grandparents preferred their own "do it yourselfer" surgery.

Oh, and if you run out of booze at your next party, go ahead and tap into your gas tank. They're now making fuel out of corn liquor. . .I'm not sure if it's really drinkable, but it will get your guests to leave on time.

And to pay for the party two days before your paycheck clears, don't write a check. The Federal Reserve went from processing 1,000 checks a day in 1970 to 70,000 checks an hour now. Your check could clear before you leave the parking lot.

The stuff I learn makes the show a lot of fun for the group AND for me. Plus I now know to plant Centipede grass on my lawn, the grass on the highway median strips, because it grows slower than other grass. . . and if I'm having an appendicitis attack, I won't go to the hospital until the week of March 4th., because I'll probably get better service during Hospital Patient Safety Awareness Week.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR. . .
Jan McInnis, The Work Lady, is a corporate comedian and comedy writer who has performed at hundreds of private events. She was recently featured in the “Wall Street Journal” as one of the “popular convention comedians.” Jan also sells comedy material to radio & TV daily, and she can be reached by emailing Jan@TheWorkLady.como