Ancient knowledge from the teenage mutant ninja turtles

The Daily Drip

This week, we're doing a series!

For the next 4 days, I'm going to talk a bit about the 4 main "comedic humors" or personality types and what they say about each of us.

Quick and unnecessary aside about The Four Humors:

Back in the day, a bunch of old greek guys came up with the idea that the balance of fluids in the body had something to do with your personality and behavior. I’m not going to tell you about Alcmaeon of Croton, no, you can look that up for yourself if you want.

This idea isn’t that crazy if you just swap out the word “fluids” for “chemical systems” or “hormones.”

Of course, the old greek guys didn’t articulate it that way, but I digress.

Here’s the breakdown of the 4 main “humors” and the temperaments with which they supposedly correspond:

• Blood: Enthusiasm, intensity, conviviality.

• Yellow Bile: Aggression and anger.

• Black Bile: Melancholy and depression.

• Phlegm: Apathy.

I dunno. Seems legit.

Later on, Aristophanes (another old greek guy) started using these 4 different humors in drama. Today, these are known as the comedy of humors and have been replicated again and again--because it's a formula that works.

Since these 4 personality types are actually a part of each of us in some way, they're easy to resonate with. It makes the characters more relatable and understandable.

Here are just a few examples of where you've seen these personalities in action:

• Sex and the City

• Seinfeld

• Scooby-Doo

• The Fantastic Four

• The Beatles(!)

To get us through this week I'm going to use an even more salient example.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The punchline:
The idea is that by understanding these 4 temperaments, we can better understand our own tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses. When we acknowledge these conflicting parts of ourselves, we can take action and improve.

I hope this makes you think and I hope it's enough to hold you over until tomorrow.

We're talking about Raphael, first. ;)