Laughterhas
surprisinglylittleto
dowithjokesand
humour:Most
laughterdoesnotcome
fromlisteningtofunny
stories.Neuroscientist
RobertProvinefound
thatwe’re 30 times
morelikelytolaughat
somethingwhenweare
talkingtoourfriends,
evenif whatthey’re
sayingisn’treallyfunny.
Inthisinstance,
laughterhelps
communicatetoour
conversationalpartners
thatwelikeand
empathisewiththem.
Inothercases,wemay
uselaughtertodisguise
ournervousness or to
easetension.It’snotjustthe
humourthatmakesa
jokefunny:People
findjokesfunnierwhen
theyaretoldby
someonetheyknow,
especiallyif they
considerthatperson
funny.Aclevercartoon
seems even funnier “iftherearealsoother
variableswelike,like
thedrawingisgood,or
thecomedianisonewe
admire,ora personwe
don’tlikeisbeingput
down,”explainsBob
Mankoff,thehumour
andcartoon editor at
Esquire.Itwillnothelpyou
loseweight(sorry):
Whilelaughterhas
beenshowntoimprove
yourhealthinmany
ways,it doesnotburn
morekilojoulesthan
goingfora run,sadly.
Althoughlaughingdoes
raisea person’senergy
expenditureandheart
ratebyabouttento
20 percent,youwould
havetolaughsolidlyfor
uptothreehoursto
burnoffa bag of potato
chips.Humansaren’tthe
onlyoneswhodoit:
ResearchersinEngland
who spentseveral
monthswithcaptive
chimpanzee coloniesfoundthattheprimates
laughedallthetime.
Usually,thelaughter
camefrom
spontaneousreactions
tophysicalcontact,
suchaswrestling,
chasing,ticklingorjust
beingsurprised.Other
researchershavefound
evidencethatratslaugh- ina high-pitched,
ultrasonickindofway–
thoughratpupslaugh
farmoreoften than the
adults.
It’sa universal
language:Laughter
soundsbasicallythe
sameineveryculture,
leadingsome
researcherstobelieve
thatlaughterand
smilingsomehow
connectedourhuman
ancestorswherever
theyencounteredeach
other.Infact,according
totheUniversityof
Kentucky,thesoundof
laughterissocommon
andfamiliarthatit can
berecognisedif played
backwards.Laughter Facts
34 April 2020
READER’S DIGEST