Michael Ian Black offered advice on how to annoy strangers on an airplane, what skydiving is like and why not to smoke marijuana.

Black said the best advice to annoy strangers on an airplane is to make banana noises the entire flight.

“You may ask yourself, ‘Michael, what are banana noises?,'” Black said.

They are noises you involuntarily make while eating a banana, he said.

An audience of about 550 came to watch Black at the Ohio Union Wednesday night. Black, 39, performed stand-up comedy in the Archie Griffin Ballroom. OUAB organized and put on the event for Ohio State students, faculty and staff.

The topic of his comedy included his failures on TV.

“I am the AIDS of TV. You better listen fast because they may cancel this show before it’s over,” Black said.

Paul Soltesz, a third-year in physical geography, said he came to the show to relax and be entertained.

“I’ve had a long week, and comedy is a great way to relax and take your mind off things,” Soltesz said.

Fontine Baptiste, OUAB’s comedy chair, said nearly 1,100 tickets were available for the event. She said OUAB had intentions of filling the east ballroom, which has a capacity of nearly 800 people.

The doors to the event opened at 7 p.m., but that didn’t stop Claire Ravenscroft and Seth Radley from getting in line at 3:45 p.m. Ravenscroft, a second-year in English and political science, said they were first in line for the event.

“I am very excited,” Ravenscroft said. “Seeing him live is basically a culmination of a life-long dream.”

Radley, a second-year in political science and film studies, said they found out about him coming to OSU well before tickets were released, and they could not wait.

Ravenscroft said she has been a fan of Black for more than six years. She said she loves his standup comedy trio, Stella. Black attended New York University, where he met Michael Showalter and David Wain. Together they created Stella.

Black talked about the first time, and only time, that he went skydiving.

“Basically, you strap yourself to a dude, and you just spoon all the way down to earth,” Black said.

Black was on the VH1’s “I Love the…” series. The series put out episodes such as “I Love the 70s,” “I Love the 80s,” “I Love the 90s” and “I Love the New Millenium.”

Brian Hansen, a first-year in biology, said he is a big fan of Black and enjoys his comedy routines.

“I’ve seen him on VH1, and I’ve always been a fan,” Hansen said.

Hanson said he is happy that part of his student activity fee went toward bringing Black to OSU.

OUAB declined to disclose the cost of the event to The Lantern.

Black said the reason he does not smoke marijuana is simple. He explained how the first time he tried smoking weed was when he was 27, on his honeymoon, in Amsterdam.

“Honestly, walking back to the hotel, I thought I was a panda,” Black said. “Weird thing about Amsterdam, there is not enough wild bamboo to feed a full grown panda.”