Why Do We Laugh?

You know what's funny? Why people laugh. Hank talks about the science of laughter: what makes us laugh, what purpose it serves, and even what it can tell us about our mental and physical health. Hilarious!

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[SirIkeMedia]

I laugh alone sometimes because I remember something funny

[XPimKossibleX]

I love those 15 minute laughter episodes that you have with your friends that make you unable to do anything except think about that one thing and stare at eachother

[earlmehraban]

Anyone else feel the sudden urge to laugh while watching this?

[AnUndivine]

So that's why I had to struggle to hold my laugher at the last funeral I was at.

[BerserkerGuts_]

Not gonna lie, I literally try to laugh as much as I can throughout the day. I am always looking for funny videos, shows, movies, stand ups and classics. Laughing is a feeling that is so unique, just like having sex is unique.

[TranceCore]

Did anyone actually laugh at the banana phone thing? Cuz I did.

[sethkirby]

To those curious about being tickled; it doesn't directly explain it in this video but another video put together with this one does. It is theorized that being 'ticklish' is a defense mechanism used to know if a venomous spider is crawling up your leg or something of that sort.

Then in this video he says that laughing is used to ease your nerves when distressed and being tickled creates a sense of danger and distress. It's why you hate being tickled but always laugh when it happens.

[MsAaprill]

A friend of mine recommended your channel and I'm glad he did, your videos are so educational and always interesting topics!

[catherineroberts]

I now know, why I get sarcastic during times when I'm in trouble, and have an addiction to the Humor section on Pinterest. My laughter is my form of stress relief, because I seriously can't find anything else that can calm me during stressful times.

[marthastokeworth]

I don't think acting is exactly Hank and Michael's thing, but their trying is phenomenal! :D

[MrDocPennington]

My favorite laughter explanation is the safety theory, where we laugh because we recognize we are in a better or safer position than someone else. Someone trips, we laugh because we were safe from the tripping. The tripper can laugh afterwards because they are unharmed and thus, safe. This also helps explain why the same joke can be funny in one situation and inappropriate in another, depending on how safe the hearer(s) of the joke feels

[dysonlu]

Thanks! I was looking for something to confirm/agree with my own hypothesis about laughter (the kind triggered by a funny situation) and finally found this. Basically, the first part of a funny situation makes us endure stress due to the nature of said situation (unexpected, unpredictable, abnormal, absurd (which could be caused by insanity), etc.) that suggests danger. But then when the situation completely unfolded, we realize that it wasn't as dangerous or as harmful as we thought it was after all and that's when laughter occurs to "decompress" our body from the effect of the stress, to relief us. The whole process of stress build up and relief can happen really quickly, perhaps in split seconds; the stress may be so small and it comes and goes so quickly that we may not consciously realize it was there.

[MEGHAPSEY]

I spent six hours talking and laughing with some of the most amazing and special people I know today. I don't actually have much to say on the topic, I'm just really glad I got to talk to my sweet and hilarious friends. It certainly feels like I've had a workout with all the gut busting laughter, though, so there's that.

[dontcallmelil]

I lol'd at the "Using a banana as a telephone" part, it was unexpected, and well done!

[kindlin]

I can't hear or think about mine or anyone else's eye with starting to tear up.

I definitely have a tear on my cheek right now.

[Lucitaur]

Not to mention that it's always good to hear about the same topic from different people since they will probably give you a detail or two that previous person didn't.
Also, everything can (and probably should) get compared (if done properly, that is).

[LuckeeManiac]

I was laughing until 0:27...then shit got real

[soundaholixx]

Its funny because i laughed at video about laughter and also laughed about the comments about the video about laughed which i've laughed about
what

[tracesprite]

Laughter is a cousin to crying. Both involve spontaneous convulsions of the lungs and neck. In both, your mouth is stretched wider and you may get tears in your eyes. Both dominate your attention, making it difficult to continue what you're doing. If you laugh or cry along with someone, you usually feel quite a bond with them. If you laugh or cry alone, you may really miss having someone to share your feelings with and you may feel a strong urge to share your feelings with someone. We love to see movies that make us laugh or cry along with the audience.

[rudymartin]

I love laughing. I do it a lot. I remember when I was in 6th grade and there was this list they were handing out of ways to tell if someone is on marijuana, and read stuff like "Breaks into laughter for no apparent reason" and thought to myself "....as it turns out, I'm a pothead, and I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT"
I, of course, found this hilarious.