Laugh..

**peeyush_ali** · Jun14-09, 11:08 PM

Why human beings can laugh while most of the animals cannot laugh..??
What actually is "laughing phenomenon"??

**jamesb-uk** · Jun15-09, 01:45 PM

Laughing is primarily a social tool, and is only really used by humans, as our social communications are more subtle than most other animals'.

**tiny-tim** · Jun15-09, 03:29 PM

Originally Posted by jamesb-uk

Laughing is primarily a social tool, and is only really used by humans, as our social communications are more subtle than other animals.

wikipedia says various primates…

Research has noted the similarity in forms of laughter among various primates (humans, gorillas, orang-utans...), suggesting that laughter derives from a common origin among primate species, and has subsequently evolved in each species.

Also "heavy" ticklishness is found only in primates …

I wonder whether laughter evolved from ticklishness?

**mgb_phys** · Jun15-09, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by tiny-tim

various primates…

Sounds like interesting field work
Lemur - yes
Spider monkeys - yes
Chimps - no
Gorillas - oh dear, better get a new grad student

**tiny-tim** · Jun15-09, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by mgb_phys

Gorillas - oh dear, better get a new grad student

Sorry

… was that Grad student - yes, or Grad student - no ?

**turbo-1** · Jun15-09, 04:43 PM

Many of my ferrets liked being tickled. Some would squirm and play-bite and some would "laugh" or do both. Ferrets make a "dook, dook" sound when they are playing with each other or humans or otherwise having a good time and I interpreted that has a "happy" noise that's as close as they get to laughing.

**mgb_phys** · Jun15-09, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by tiny-tim

Sorry … was that Grad student - yes, or Grad student - no ?

I'm picturing a far side cartoon - with a student approaching a large gorilla with a feather.

**Moonbear** · Jun15-09, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by mgb_phys

Gorillas - oh dear, better get a new grad student

Originally Posted by mgb_phys

I'm picturing a far side cartoon - with a student approaching a large gorilla with a feather.

**Ygggdrasil** · Jun16-09, 12:32 AM

There was actually a study published recently where researchers (perhaps grad students) tickled various primates and recorded the sounds they made. When they compared the sounds made by the various primates (including humans), they saw that the similarities matched up well with the evolutionary relationships of the species of primate (i.e. species that were more closely related genetically made similar sounding laughs). The paper can be found below along with a link to a podcast discussing the research. Also, below is a link to a Radio Lab podcast discussing the science of laughter. In it, they talk to researchers who suggests that rat may display laughing behavior.

Davilla Ross M, Owren MJ, Zimmermann E. Reconstructing the Evolution of Laughter in Great Apes and Humans. Current Biology (2009) doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.05.028

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200906054

http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2008/02/25/laughter/