Wallace Abernathy, age 14, of Mathews, N.C., for his question:
WHAT IS A LAUGH?
Man is probably the only creature on earth who can laugh. Sometimes, it seems, we can detect a real smile on the faces of our dogs or cats but our furry friends aren't laughing. And don't mention the laughing hyenas since these creatures, rightly called the striped hyenas, are actually making shrieking cries that only sound like laughter. _
Laughing is actually an involuntary reaction and a sign of amusement and joy. Laughter is a response. When something seems funny to you, you respond by moving many muscles of your face and some in your throat. The movements, put together, produce something we call laughter.
Many different stimuli cause laughter. For example, a strong contrast may cause you to suddenly laugh: you see a 7 foot basketball player walking down the street with 4 foot 10 friend, and you laugh. Or you just see Laurel and Hardy walking along in a TV movie, and you laugh. No need for owl them to say a single word.
A sudden surprise can bring laughter: you fall while roller skating, and you laugh for no reason at all. Or sometimes you laugh when you see one of your friends fall.
Some scientists say the bad luck of others makes us laugh because deep down inside we are glad that the misfortune isn't hitting us. That's why, they say, we are convulsed by the sight of someone getting smashed by a pie in the face. And it's also why we laugh when the circus clown keeps getting hit by the paddle. We are secretly happy that the pie and the paddle aren't hitting us, some of the scientists say.
We laugh at the comic telling his funny stories, or the wild antics of the funnymen on television. Laughter is contagious. We especially enjoy laughing in the company of family and friends.
When we laugh at a joke being told, we are retreating temporarily from the realities and pressures of life. And laughter is wonderful medicine. It can relieve worries and restore a sense of balance. If we can make ourselves laugh over our own troubles, we can often deal with them in more relaxed and sensible ways.
There is a type of constant silliness and giggling that is completely inappropriate and incongruous. Often is is accompanied with smiling or loud laughter. Too often this type of behavior indicates a definite mental or personality problem. But, for the most part, laughing and giggling is the frosting on the cake of life.