On Monday night, both David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon did their nightly talk shows in front of very silent studio audiences.

They weren’t silent out of reverence for the destruction that was raging around them thanks to Hurricane Sandy -- they were silent because they simply weren’t there.

Apparently, despite sending ticket-holders home for their own safety, ‘The Late Show’ and ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ taped their shows anyway. And as we all found out, a joke-filled talk show just isn’t quite the same without anyone there to laugh at it.

There were awkward silences that followed jokes falling like lead balloons. And even if your power was on and you could watch from home -- as two-thirds of the country could -- it quickly became painfully aware how pointless it is to crack one-liners to empty chairs.

Upholstery, it seems, has zero sense of humor.

Adding to the many other heroic efforts during the storm, the two funnymen nobly carried on so as to provide the rest of the country with the broadcast Ambien upon which so many rely for a good night's sleep.

Slow clap, Dave and Jimmy. Slow clap.

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