laughing news stories on Newser

For Contagious Laughs, Open Your Mouth

Nick McMaster — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:36:45 CST

When it comes to laughs, the bigger the better, at least if you want it to spread. In one of those science-confirms-the-obvious studies, researchers found that open-mouth laughs in which people use their vocal chords in "vowel-like bursts" are the most contagious, LiveScience reports. And the longer they last, the...

Rats Laugh When Tickled

Evann Gastaldo — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:02:00 CDT

A YouTube gem from 2007 is making the rounds again, teaching us something kind of neat and kind of gross: Rats laugh when tickled. When a Bowling Green University professor decided to try tickling the rodents, and then listening to their resulting high-frequency noises on a “bat detector,” he discovered...

Tongue-Tied Groom, Tickled Bride Storm YouTube

Nick McMaster — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:54:39 CDT

An exchange of marital vows that took a break for hysterical laughter has become a viral-video hit, the Daily Mail reports. First a nervous Andrew Engstrom fumbles with the ring. When the celebrant asks him to repeat “to be my lawfully wedded wife,” he says “waffle-y”—sending bride Melissa Warren,...

Laughter Also Good Medicine for Orangutans

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:52:02 CST

Humans aren't the only animals who laugh, according to a new study. Orangutans engage in a primitive form of laughing, the BBC reports—when one exhibits a facial expression such as an open, gaping mouth, and a companion displays the same expression less than half a second later. This sense...