Professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner have teamed up to explore the science of humor on a global expedition. The Humor Code chronicles their adventures, scientific experiments and unintentional comedy along the way. Learn more about McGraw, Warner and their escapades at HumorCode.com.

PORTLAND, Oregon — We knew our Humor Code panel at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival wasn’t going to go as planned when comedian Mary Mack showed up onstage with two beers, three energy drinks, three waters and a Swiss army knife.

We’d thought the event would be simple: We’d talk a bit about our Humor Code project, including our research on Mad Men-style drinking and sex-ed PSAs. Then our very capable moderator — Jordan Morris of the Jordan, Jesse, Go! podcast — would turn it over to our all-star lineup of comedians (Pete Holmes, Myq Kaplan and Mary Mack) for commentary. But we forgot to factor in one thing: A bunch of professional comics, onstage, under a spotlight, in front of a packed house.

Clearly we were asking for trouble.

Things veered off the rails from the get-go when Holmes decided he’d be the one to describe our humor theories — theories he knew nothing about.

He went on and on as if he were the boy genius from Good Will Hunting, and the other comedians joined in the fun, with Mack insisting on raising her hand every time she wanted to say something, like she was back in school.

Still, despite the hijinks, we managed to carry on a wide-ranging conversation last Saturday on everything from comedians’ drinking problems to gender inequality to whether science has anything to offer stand-up comics.

You can download a recording of the Humor Code panel (.mp3) and see more of the onstage action in the slideshow above, which we used to display our findings.

And just so you know, Mack only used the Swiss army knife to open her beers, although a few times she did point it at us menacingly.