Laughter - Addictive and Very Mysterious

We all laugh and that is a story we humans share. In fact, from the age of 3 months on, we can be tickled into submission. Apparently even the great apes laugh too but due to a different mechanism it comes out like panting rather than the sound we recognize.

It is infectious since even the sound makes us want to join in or smile at the very least. This is if the joke is something we recognize or the instance akin to activities we too have tried.

But if it is one person laughing and there is no real joke, it is meant to put down, then others recognize this and find it offensive. That distinction is understood no matter what culture we are referring to.

Scientists cannot tell us why it is we sound as we do when laughing. And, to be clear, it has a slightly different pitch and realization depending on the person who is doing it. That too is puzzling although our different sizes and lung capacities are not the same.

Additionally, sometimes we laugh as a reflex or it is a nervous laughter brought on by circumstances beyond our control. Some people even snort or adopt strange sounds that contribute to the unique response.

As for me, I could never understand why slapstick managed to stay around as long as it did or at least some form of it. We appear to enjoy it when someone slips and falls or does a stunt that backfires and leaves them contorted.

We are not really laughing at their pain for we do not wish that upon them. It is more about the suddenness of the calamity and the expression on the face that is priceless. We also identify with how they feel.

There is one more reason for such a strange release of expression and that is we are likely to laugh when in a group. Some things though are equally funny when we are alone like a cartoon. A few of us also join in because they just want to belong. But what is most delightful is we all get it. Laughter is very human.