About Laughter

Here, from the Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, & Body Language Cues, are a few pithy insights about laughter:

". . . it is scarcely possible to point out any difference between the tear-stained face of a person after a paroxysm of excessive laughter and after a bitter crying-fit" (Darwin 1872:207). 2. Laughing strengthens bonds of comradeship (Van Hooff 1967:59). 3. Laughter is more social than humorous (Van Hooff 1967:59). 4. Our laugh resembles the great ape's relaxed open-mouth face (esp., its "rhythmic, low-pitched staccato vocalizations and . . . boisterous body movements" (Van Hooff 1967:60). 5. "For example, they [deaf-and-blind-born children] smile and laugh as we do when they are happy and emit the correct sounds when they do so" (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1971:12). 6. People in good spirits may laugh 100-to-400 times a day (Fry 1983). 7. Human laughter "seldom exceeds 7 seconds" (Ruch 1993). 8. Laughter may be vocal or voiceless, may include all vowel and many consonant possibilities; it frequently begins with an initial "h" sound, most usually as "he-he," grading into "ha-ha" (Ruch 1993). "

And a few more: "Chemically, according to some researchers, laughter provides relief from stress by releasing pain-killing, euphoria-producing endorphins, enkephalins, dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline. Socially, laughter binds us as friendly allies united against outsiders, and against forces beyond our control. Psychologically, the comic laugh (in response, e.g., to funny jokes, puns, and satire) is a recent development perhaps linked to the evolution of speech."

Apparently, the physiological and emotional benefits of laughter are so profound that it's good for us to laugh, even when we don't think anything's particularly funny. Hence, the World Laughter Tour.