Why laughter is the best medicine Flashcards
rib cage
structure in the human chest made of bones called ribs which protects your lungs and heart.
Laughing is a variation of breathing. Like breathing, it involves the rib cage. When you laugh you get these very, very large, very fast contractions of the rib cage. And it’s a very primitive way of making a sound, …
The rib cage works like a drum to amplify a laugh. It’s the reason why jokes are sometimes called ‘rib-ticklers’.
primitive
relating to the simple, natural way humans lived in their early stages of development, before money, machines or writing were invented.
When you laugh you get these very, very large, very fast contractions of the rib cage. And it’s a very primitive way of making a sound, so you’re really just squeezing air out in big bouts. Each of those individual squeezes gives you a ‘ha!’ sound.
It’s the reason why jokes are sometimes called ‘rib-ticklers’.
giggle
a quiet, childlike but uncontrolled way of laughing.
Right, so how would you describe a ‘giggle’?
I’d say a giggle is laughing in a quiet but uncontrolled way, like a child who finds something very funny or feels embarrassed. Unlike a guffaw which is when you blast out a very loud laugh, often at something stupid or rude someone has said. But humans aren’t the only animals to laugh. We belong to the same family as other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, all of whom laugh.
guffaw
laugh out loud, often at something stupid or rude someone has said.
so how would you describe a ‘giggle’?
I’d say a giggle is laughing in a quiet but uncontrolled way, like a child who finds something very funny or feels embarrassed.
Unlike a guffaw which is when you blast out a very loud laugh, often at something stupid or rude someone has said. But humans aren’t the only animals to laugh. We belong to the same family as other primates like chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, all of whom laugh.
Even rats tickle each other and make squeaky noises like laughter when they play.
mammals
animals, including humans, dogs and whales, which give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs, and who feed their young with milk.
Play is a very important behaviour for mammals – all mammals play when they’re juveniles and some mammals play their whole lives, and laughter is a sort of an invitation to play, it’s a sign that you’re playing.
juvenile
young animal which is not fully grown.
Play is a very important behaviour for mammals – all mammals play when they’re juveniles and some mammals play their whole lives, and laughter is a sort of an invitation to play, it’s a sign that you’re playing.
By laughing, young mammals - sometimes called juveniles - signal that they want to play, and young rats who don’t laugh back are more likely to get a bite than a giggle. And a rat bite is nothing to laugh about.
