Laughter, "communicate[s] way more than, ‘I’m playing and I’m having fun.’"
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Nick Hernandez
Jun 30, 2026, 9:49:16 AMJun 30
to professor...@googlegroups.com
To Reveal the Rhythmic Roots of Laughter, Just Tickle an Ape
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/science/evolution-laughter-apes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uFA.s4im.JUoxxZ7twicm
By Emily Anthes
June 25, 2026
A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.
Humor is deeply personal. A punchline or a pratfall that leaves one person doubled over in delight might elicit blank stares from another. But laughter is universal, an innate instinct shared by humans everywhere.
And not just humans. Chimps chuckle, gorillas guffaw, bonobos bust a gut. All the planet’s great apes laugh, and they often do so in the same kind of regular, repeating rhythm that humans do, scientists found in a small new study...
Even though humans were the fastest laughers on average, they displayed enormous variability in their laugh speeds, laughing languidly in some circumstances and rapidly in others. They were also the only species to change the tempo of their laughter depending on the context, laughing faster, for instance, while being tickled than during play...
“Laughter is such an important part of our way of communication,” Dr. De Gregorio said. “It’s able to communicate way more than, ‘I’m playing and I’m having fun.’”
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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/science/evolution-laughter-apes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uFA.s4im.JUoxxZ7twicm
By Emily Anthes
June 25, 2026
A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.
Humor is deeply personal. A punchline or a pratfall that leaves one person doubled over in delight might elicit blank stares from another. But laughter is universal, an innate instinct shared by humans everywhere.
And not just humans. Chimps chuckle, gorillas guffaw, bonobos bust a gut. All the planet’s great apes laugh, and they often do so in the same kind of regular, repeating rhythm that humans do, scientists found in a small new study...
Even though humans were the fastest laughers on average, they displayed enormous variability in their laugh speeds, laughing languidly in some circumstances and rapidly in others. They were also the only species to change the tempo of their laughter depending on the context, laughing faster, for instance, while being tickled than during play...
“Laughter is such an important part of our way of communication,” Dr. De Gregorio said. “It’s able to communicate way more than, ‘I’m playing and I’m having fun.’”
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I propose an informal companion to the International Day of Play--the International Day of Playful Adults. I think it should be the nearest Saturday to whatever day of the week June 11th falls on in any given year. This year I put something together on June 13th: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRAI_WnbL7Z3BBHKvH1utrn9TQ5T4vWH3. It can be thought of as a fringe fest. Please do not tell the kids because you will most likely be subjected to mockery and accusations of organizing cringe-fests.
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Just Play—The Positivity Matters Podcast: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZpzO6muZDfc
Warmly,
Nadia Di Martino
Jun 30, 2026, 10:01:54 AMJun 30
to Nick Hernandez, professor...@googlegroups.com
this all looks amazing!!!!!!
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