Metaphors and jokes are spectral cousins, dwelling at distinct points on a scale of fit absurdity. To elicit laughter with a metaphor, or propose profundity with a joke, one has to recalibrate the delicate balance of absurdity and fitness. This article proposes a systematic approach to the production of comedic narratives from a seed metaphor that a system can also produce for itself. It supplies empirical support for its claim that when the absurdity of a seed metaphor is increased via the jarring integration of vivid detail, the resulting stories are evaluated significantly higher on the dimensions of entertainment, laughter, drama and imagination. The storyteller, whose knowledge resources are made publicly available for others to use, is embodied in a software robot, or bot, that works autonomously on Twitter.