Noun

Wikipedia has an article on: Laughter

Singular laughter

Plural uncountable

laughter (uncountable)

  1. The sound of laughing, produced by air so expelled; any similar sound.
    Their loud laughter betrayed their presence
  2. A movement (usually involuntary) of the muscles of the laughing face, particularly of the lips, with a peculiar expression of the eyes, indicating merriment, satisfaction or derision, and usually attended by a sonorous and interrupted expulsion of air from the lungs.
    • The act of laughter, which is a sweet contraction of the muscles of the face, and a pleasant agitation of the vocal organs, is not merely, or totally within the jurisdiction of ourselves. - Sir Thomas Browne
    • Archly the maiden smiled, and with eyes overrunning with laughter - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  3. (archaic) A reason for merriment
  4. (slang) A decidedly one-sided sports contest, especially where the winning team is able to score at will.
    The final score of the football game was 70-0; what a laughter it was.

From Wiktionary under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Thu Jun 11 05:04:50 2009

Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy (laughing on the inside). It may ensue (as a physiological reaction) from jokes, tickling, and other stimuli. Inhaling nitrous oxide can also induce laughter; other drugs, such as cannabis, can also induce episodes of strong laughter. Strong laughter can sometimes bring an onset of tears or even moderate muscular pain.

Laughter is a part of human behaviour regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group — it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seemingly contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback. This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks in situation comedy television shows.

The study of humor and laughter, and its psychological and physiological effects on the human body is called gelotology.

From Wikipedia under the GNU Free Documentation License
Thu Jun 11 05:04:31 2009

Why do people believe laughter is the best medicine ?
Q. It was not been proved really we just think it's healthy . I mean do you feel better have you have had a good cry or a good laugh ? . It really hasn't been proved that laughter has long term benefits .
Asked by Northern cloth cat - Tue Feb 10 18:16:33 2009 - - 6 Answers - 0 Comments

A. a good laugh or a good cry release endorphins which are the feel good hormones both also release unwanted tension
Answered by Jan409 - Tue Feb 10 18:24:47 2009

How can I control my laughter?
Q. Oftentimes, my friends say something funny in the middle of class and I cannot help but find it laugh and be tickled by it, even after the joke should be dead. My continued laughter sometimes makes a scene. How can I stop thinking something is funny?
Asked by nc_kickz - Tue Jan 27 19:52:15 2009 - - 8 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Think of how irrelevant your life is, that should shut you up. You are so shallow you actually have to go to Yahoo Answers to figure how not to appear being a ditsy, and baseless shell of a person.
Answered by Scott H - Tue Jan 27 22:04:11 2009

Science behind laughter and jokes and humor?
Q. Now I know that laughter is caused by something we find "funny" but I am wondering what causes us to find that something funny. Also if we know that each person finds different things funny that means that there is some variable that changes throughout different people (DNA?) and is it possible to create the "perfect joke" based on these facts?
Asked by skateordiealone - Tue Apr 28 20:20:14 2009 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. your sense of humor isn't causes as much by dna as it is your own experiences in life If it were a variable it would be a fluctuating variable because it would change for every person.
Answered by heather11ginny23 - Wed Apr 29 15:24:57 2009

From Yahoo Answer Search: "laughter"
Thu May 28 06:38:04 2009

Quotes on laughter, which can be an audible expression of merriment and amusement or an inward feeling of joy and pleasure.

Contents

Sourced

Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. ~ Henry Ward Beecher
  • You grow up the first day you have your first good laugh — at yourself.
    • Ethel Barrymore, as quoted in 1,600 Quotes & Pieces of Wisdom That Just Might Help You Out When You're Stuck in a Moment (and Can't Get Out of It!) (2003) by Gary P. Guthrie
  • Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.
  • Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
    • Edmund Burke in the Preface to Brissot's Address to his Constituents (1794)
  • And if I laugh at any mortal thing, 'Tis that I may not weep.
  • No man who has once heartily and wholly laughed can be altogether irreclaimably bad.
Humour and laughter vital to children's existence, but boundaries ... - The Canadian Press
google.com
Humour and laughter vital to children's existence, but boundaries ...

The Canadian Press

The scene sends my fourth-grader and her friends into hysterical fits of laughter every time they re-enact it, complete with New York accent just like Rodin's naked guy. But why, of all the schtick in that movie - and in their lives - does it crack ...
Naked pedal tests mettle - Toronto Star
thestar.com
Naked pedal tests mettle

Toronto Star,  Canada

There was shock, of course, and laughter . It would be politically correct to say the laughter was in response to the shock but, no. The naked cyclists looked funny. Hairy in unexpected places. Floppy flesh jiggling in unexpected ways. ...
Morticians at work, eliciting laughter as well as tears - Philadelphia Inquirer
philly.com
Morticians at work, eliciting laughter as well as tears

Philadelphia Inquirer, PA

By Carrie Rickey Winner of this year's foreign-film Oscar, Departures veers from comedy to drama, occasionally taking a rest stop on the shoulder of sentiment. Yojiro Takita's movie simultaneously tickles tears of mourning as it wrings laughs about the ...

From Google News Search: "laughter"
Sat Jun 20 00:22:40 2009

value laughter jpg
lucilleball.net
value laughter jpg
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The Value Of Laughter The Story of Lucille Ball H by Anne Donegan Johnson

City Of Silent Laughter lg jpg
poolpaintings.com
City Of Silent Laughter lg jpg
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[source page]

City of silent laughter 1988 original oil painting

19LAUGHTER wideweb 430x229 1 jpg
theage.com.au
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[source page]

Laughter leader Maureen Baas takes a laughing class at Moore Stephens during the Melbourne International Arts Festival Photo Rebecca Hallas

From Yahoo Image Search: "laughter"
Fri Jun 19 23:40:52 2009

Dallas - DC9 At Night - Gig Alert: Mothfight!, Florene and Red ...
blogs.dallasobserver.com
Dallas - DC9 At Night - Gig Alert: Mothfight!, Florene and Red ...

unknown

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:54:11 GM

Gig Alert: Mothfight!, Florene and Red Faced . Laughter. at Bee's Manor in Denton. By Daniel Rodrigue in Gig Alert. Friday, Jun. 19 2009 @ 4:18PM. Thumbnail image for mothfight.jpg. The impressive Mothfight! returns to Denton this evening. ...

Plan a Weekend Filled With Laughter | GlamBuzz
blogs.glam.com
Plan a Weekend Filled With Laughter | GlamBuzz

Aanchal

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:37:00 GM

An Inside Peek into the World of Music, Movies, and TV.

Human laughter up to 16 million years old | COSMOS magazine
cosmosmagazine.com
Human laughter up to 16 million years old | COSMOS magazine

John

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:41:23 GM

Despite this, scientists have long suspected that the physical expressions of human emotions, like . laughter. , arose in our primate ancestors. If true, this implies that apes have similar experiences of emotion to us. ...

From Google Blog Search: "laughter"
Sat Jun 20 06:35:59 2009

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Wed Jun 24 23:08:51 2009