question:  What is the significance of describing Mr. Ross as a funny person?
context: Eddie found it easy to believe the stories he had heard about his father being an outstanding football player in his time. But, from what I hear, there are plenty of rock formations. Still, one clue is as good as another when it comes to hunting uranium ore, I guess. During the summer months his freckles got so thick and dark that it would take a magnifying glass to detect any small smudges of dirt hiding among them. He plastered some water on his dark-red hair, pushed a comb through it, and shrugged as it snapped back almost to its original position. It could start cavities. Get at it right away, and you’ll still have time to hunt your uranium. In fact, anything having to do with atomic science excited him. You couldn’t have a father who was head of the atomic-science department at Oceanview College without picking up a little knowledge along the way. When carefully controlled, the radiation stored up in such isotopes was used in many beneficial ways. One reason for asking that particular question was to keep from prying deeper into the subject of the radioisotope. Much of his father’s work at Oceanview College was of a secret nature. His father usually volunteered any information he wanted known, so Eddie stuck to questions which could and would be answered. At the speed atomic science is moving today, we simply can’t afford to waste time. The best way to get there was by rowboat across Moon Bay, and that was too long a row to be starting now. Besides, there were plenty of other places around the outskirts of Oceanview where likely looking rock formations invited search with a Geiger counter. They had been ever since Eddie’s family had moved to Oceanview and his father had become head of the college’s atomic-science department. Teena’s father was chief engineer for the Acme Aviation Company, one of the coast town’s largest manufacturing concerns. 22 “Oh, yes, it’s fun, Mother,” Teena replied, wrapping wax paper around a sandwich.
output:  It provides a stark contrast to the stressed Mr. Ross we meet in Chapter Two. It shows the reader that something has gone horribly wrong at Mr. Ross’s job.
options:  It provides a stark contrast to the stressed Mr. Ross we meet in Chapter Two. It shows the reader that something has gone horribly wrong at Mr. Ross’s job.  It demonstrates to the reader that Eddie will be able to get along with him, and therefore share what he knows about radiation.  It throws Eddie off the scent of Mr. Ross being a culprit responsible for Mr. Taylor’s missing isotope.  It provides a comparison to Mr. Taylor, who is more successful than Mr. Ross and therefore doesn’t have to rely on humor.