Why Accents?

Why do people randomly say single words in a sentence with an accent?  It is such a funny thing to me.  I was out to dinner with some friends last night and I was deciding what type of pasta to order.  My friend Kelly dared me to order my dinner with an accent.  So, I did. When the server came I ordered pasta with (my best impression of an Italian accent) ARRABBIATA sauce.  Unbelievably I kept a straight face.