Fact About Laughing: Fun & Interesting Insights

Fact About Laughing: Fun & Interesting Insights

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This article is about fact about laughing. When you remember something you really liked, you were likely happy and laughing. Let’s learn some interesting things about why we think something is funny and how laughing can help us feel good.

In this article, we will explain what laughter means, share some interesting fact about laughing, and crack some jokes with you. Get a big grin and come have fun on this trip.
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What Is Laughter? (A Definition)

I think some of you saw the title and thought, “I already know what laughter is” or something like that. You’re not entirely wrong. We know what laughter sounds like, but I can give you more details about how people laugh. When someone laughs, we can look at it in three ways: how it affects their body, how it affects their mind, and how it affects their relationships with others. We laugh because our body does something that makes a sound like “ha-ha” or “he-he”. We usually laugh because we feel happy or entertained. Laughing can also happen when we feel surprised or embarrassed, according to Gregory in 2013. Laughing with other people can bring us closer together and make us feel good. It’s a natural response to positive interactions with other humans, and can help us feel connected to others emotionally. ​

TED Talk: Why We Laugh by Sophie Scott

First, let’s watch a TED Talk about laughter before we learn some interesting facts about it. In this video, Sophie Scott talks about why we laugh and how our brains work when we do. She is a scientist who studies the brain.

Historical Fact About Laughing

Historical Facts About Laughter
Studies show that humans started laughing more than ten million years ago. Recently, scientists have studied laughter more and more. This is called gelotology and is becoming more popular.Here are some historical tidbits about laughter, dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.

  • In 1875, a scientist named Herbert Spencer said that when we feel happy and our muscles in our speech organs get excited, we laugh. He called laughter a natural reaction of our body.
  • Laughter is like interrupting our body’s natural rhythm, just like when we cough, sneeze, or cry. This is what one researcher said a long time ago.
  • A philosopher wrote in a book that laughing can help people relax and feel better when they are stressed or worried. This was said in a book about how people relax. The book was written in 1916.
  • A person found out that people only laugh when they feel safe and relaxed around others. This means that laughter is linked to feeling secure.
  • Research from 1933 suggested that laughter is the primary reaction to expressing euphoric feelings. This research also theorized that laughter from infants is caused by some sort of happy stimuli and can affirm the baby’s well-being to their parents (Piddington, 1933).

Scientific Facts About Laughing

Let’s take a look at some more science about laughter. Here are a few facts to get our laughter listicle started:

  • Animals can also laugh. Do you know that other animals can also laugh besides humans? I’m not talking about the funny animals in cartoons. A new research found that about 65 other kinds of animals have a way of laughing too. Someone at UCLA studies the noises that animals make, and even though it’s not exactly like people laughing, it’s kind of like laughing. These are sounds people make while playing. When animals get tickled, they make sounds that sound like laughter. This is what the study found out.(Winkler & Bryant, 2021).
  • People used laughter to stay safe. Long ago, scientists thought that laughing helped early humans show that they were not in danger to others in their group. Remember the time when people used to hunt and gather their food and move from place to place. The places where people lived also changed a lot during that time. Maybe they stayed with animals that attacked people or in places that were dangerous for the environment. Scientists found out that when we are relaxed or amused, our brains make us laugh. This is because laughter is a part of our evolution and has been around for a long time. (Provine, 2001).
  • When you see someone laughing, you might start laughing too. It’s like when you see someone yawn and then you yawn too. Research shows that if you hear someone else laughing, you may also start laughing. Do you remember how laughter is connected to being with other people? This is a good example of that. Humans laugh 30 times more when with others than alone. If we’re not in our rooms laughing at funny videos on Twitter or TikTok, then we’re probably not laughing at all. This is because the videos make us laugh at others. (Provine & Fischer, 1989).  ​

Interesting Facts About Laughing

Want to read some more facts about laughter? Look no further. Here are some facts that may pique your interest.

  • Laughing together in relationships. Laughing with your partner can help you stay together longer, have a better relationship, and be happier. (Kurtz & Algoe, 2015).
  • World Record for Laughing. Didn’t think there would be a world record for this category? Think again. The world record for longest consistent laughing was 3 hours and 47 minutes which was broken by a man named Rajendra Kumar in India (Golden Book of World Records, 2022). That’s a lot of laughing, huh?
  • Laughter and Burning Calories? No way laughing burns calories, right? Well, some researchers at Vanderbilt University argue that 15 minutes of laughing a day can burn up to 40 calories a day (Buchowski et al., 2007). Doesn’t hurt to try right?
  • Does Humor Cause Laughter? Well of course it can. However, laughter is not always linked to something funny. Research suggests that laughter is more closely linked to social interactions than hearing a joke (Provine, 2001).

Facts About Laughing Being the Best Medicine ​

Laughing is good for our mental and physical health. Look at these important facts about how laughing can help your health (Martin, 2002).

  • When we laugh, our body makes chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins can help make dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical in our brain that can make us feel good and improve how we’re feeling.
  • Laughter can help reduce stress. When you feel stressed, you might choose to watch a funny show to feel better. Laughing can help us feel happier and less stressed. It might even help with depression and anxiety.
  • Laughing and Feeling Stressed. We know life has things that make us worried and sometimes it can make our bodies feel tense. If your shoulders or lower back hurt, it might be because of stress making your muscles tense. Studies show that laughing can reduce stress and relax our bodies.
  • Laughter and Heart Health. Laughing often can improve cardiovascular health as it increases blood flow to the heart. When our cardiovascular health improves, we can also lower the risk of heart disease and heart attack (which of course, is just one factor of heart health). ​

TED Talk: Laughter is Medicine by Anjelah Johnson

Here’s a video from stand-up comedian, Anjelah Johnson, about laughter as a form of medicine.

Facts About Laughter Therapy

There are different ways to get therapy like talking to someone, spending time with pets, or doing art. Did you know that laughing is another way to feel better? Here are some things to know about laughing therapy.

  • Laughter therapy is when people make themselves laugh for health. It helps old people or people who are very sick like those who have cancer. Laughing is good for our health. Making ourselves laugh on purpose can help us feel better when we are sad or stressed. It’s like a therapy. This therapy makes people laugh by using jokes, funny movies and exercises. (Ko & Youn, 2011).
  • Laughing can make you feel better and happier with your life. Scientists did research on laughter therapy with elderly people. They found that laughing can make you feel less lonely and better in your daily life (Deshpande & Verma, 2013). ​

TED Talk: Laughter Yoga by Liliana DeLeo ​

You’ve probably heard of yoga, but have you heard of laughter yoga? Here’s a video that talks a bit more about it.

Facts About Laughter Yoga

Here are some facts about laughter yoga, a method of yoga popularized by Madan Kataria in the 1990s (Kataria, 2020).

  • When you laugh for a long time on purpose. You might think that when you laugh, you don’t really mean to do it on purpose. It just happens and you can’t control it. You are correct. Laughter yoga makes you laugh for a long time on purpose.
  • Laughter Yoga and Immunity. Forcing ourselves to laugh can decrease cortisol levels, boost the lymphatic system, and thus improve our immune system. ​

Fun Facts About Laughing

Here are some lighthearted facts (or maybe jokes!) about laughter. Check them out:

  • Did you know that there’s an ideal number of words in a joke? The correct answer is 103.
  • Adults laugh on average 20 times per day.
  • “There was once a woman who heard a joke so funny that she passed away. After hearing the joke themselves, authorities concluded that it was indeed a killer joke”. —This joke is from punstoppable.com.

Quotes About Laughter

Have you learned all the facts about laughter but still don’t think it’s good? These quotes may change your mind or make you laugh.
​

  • “A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.” – Madeleine L’Engle
  • “At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” – Jean Houston
  • “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” – Charles Dickens
  • “Laughter is a bodily exercise, precious to health.” – Aristotle
  • “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge
  • “You don’t stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you don’t stop laughing.” – Maurice Chevalier
  • “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” – Victor Hugo
  • “I am especially glad of the divine gift of laughter: it has made the world human and lovable, despite all its pain and wrong.” – W. E. B. Du Bois
  • “Everybody laughs the same in every language because laughter is a universal connection.” – Yakov Smirnoff

Final Thoughts on Fact About Laughing

You probably laugh every day since you were a baby, but I hope you learned something new about laughing today. When you go to a party in the future, consider sharing these facts or telling your own jokes with the other party guests. Make sure nobody laughs too much. We don’t want them to hurt their funny bone and have to go to the hospital.
Akwaowo Akpan
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