From: Real Simple
13 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Laughing
September 8, 2014
Real Simple:
Contrary to popular belief, the number one catalyst for laughter isn’t a joke: It’s interacting with another person.
That’s because the modern-day ha-ha! probably evolved as a form of communication. Our primate ancestors used a similar sound—a sort of pant-pant—to reassure one another that their rough-and-tumble play was all in good fun and not an attack, says Robert R. Provine, a professor of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the author of Curious Behavior, and one of the foremost experts on laughter.
Read the whole story: Real Simple
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