Smash Boom Best Presents: Brains On - Why do we laugh?

Friends, we are so super duper excited to tell you that we just added a bunch more cities to our 2026 live show tour. Get ready for singing, dancing, magic tricks, game shows, mystery sounds, and scientists falling from the sky. In a totally safe way, we promise. Plus, there's a chance for you to attend special meet and greet parties in every city. So come on! This spring we're coming to Milwaukee, St. Paul, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Chattanooga, Durham, San Francisco, Portland, Buffalo, Toronto, and an Arbor. We're basically gonna be everywhere. Look behind you. Are we there? No? Well, we probably will be soon. Head over to brainson.org slash events for tickets. And make sure you grab passes to our meet and greet party. You get to ask us questions, take pictures with us, and I'll even do some close up matches. That's brainson.org slash events. Can't wait to see you. Hi friends, it's me Molly. We're on a little winter break, and we're gonna be back with a new Smash Boom Battle on January 8th. Today, we have an episode of the other show that I host, brainson. This is an episode about something near and dear to every fan of Smash Boom Best, laughter. We hope you enjoy the show. You're listening to brainson, where we're serious about being curious. Brainson is supported on part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. These are excellent seats. I know. I've been so curious about the show. Glad you could come with me. Oh, it's starting. Hello, fellow chortlers and chucklers, gaffars and gigglers. He-hars and ha-hars. Welcome to she who laughs last. Look, it's Rosie. We know her. I know. I'm so proud of her for putting together this one woman show. As you know, doubt red in the many reviews from fine publications, such as Stuff Happening on Stage magazine, and that one flyer someone, definitely not me, put up on every telephone pull in a four mile radius, this is a show about laughter. Specifically, my recreation of some of the most profound and moving lafters I have come across in my years of research. Let us begin. Laughing at the perfect knock knock joke. Laughing at an okay knock knock joke. Laughing at a bad knock knock joke. Laughing at a dog who got his head stuck in a cereal box. Laughing because you got your head stuck in a cereal box. Laughing because your 13 year old nephew sent you a meme and you definitely get it. Oh yeah, yeah. Laughing because your 13 year old nephew said the meme you sent was cringe and you're pretty sure that means he loves it. Laughing because you farted and you don't want people to think it's you. And finally laughing because you farted and you do want everyone to know it was you. That was amazing. I feel like we really went on an emotional journey there. Rosie said genius. I hope this gets adapted into a future link film. The world meets to know. You're listening to Brains on from APM Studios. I'm Molly Bloom and my co-host today is Mila from Minneapolis. Hi, Mila. Hi, Molly. And today we're answering a question you sent into us. Yeah, I wanted to know why people laugh. This question is no laughing matter. So I'm wondering, do you feel like you're easy to make laugh? I don't think so, but I don't know. You're not sure. Well, we'll see today how easy you are to make laugh. So you told me that you want to be a comic actor when you grow up. So if someone who's interested in making people laugh, what do you think is the easiest way to get someone to laugh? Well, most of my friends laugh when I make like a dried joke, I guess, like a massive random. It's like random, dry farmer. Who in your life has your favorite laugh? My uncle. Yeah. He has his funny laugh. Can you do an imitation of it? I love it. So who makes you laugh the hardest? Probably my cousins group. Okay. How many cousins are in the group? I think like 13. But you have 13 cousins? They're not like blood cousins. Okay. They're like, family. I love that term, family. That's so nice. Yeah. I think you guys know each other for a long time. Yeah. We've known each other since we were born. Can you remember a thing that made you laugh recently? I remember. We were playing Flora's Lava, I think, who was at Carbonis, and like, they're parking lot. It was like a rainy day, and we were like, there was like this puddle, and then in the middle of the puddle, there was like this little island thingy. I don't really remember what it was or why it was there, but there was. And my cousin already tried to go on it to get to it, and he was like, oh my God, that's so deep. And I didn't hear him, so I started running from behind him. And I was running so fast that I was like in the middle of it, and I realized that it was like up to my knees. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And then I finally got there, and then all of them were laughing at me, but I won. I won. You won. But yeah. So it was worth it. Yes. Okay. So, Mila, let's dive into your question. We laugh for lots of reasons. We laugh when we get tickled. We laugh when we hear a joke. We sometimes laugh when we're nervous. Or because we see other people laughing. Each of these laughs sound a little different, and they mean different things. Yeah. Laughter is like a language. And humans are really good at using and understanding that language. When we're little, the first type of laugh we usually experience is a kind where you just can't stop. You know, when your stomach muscles start to hurt and tears start to roll down your face, when you try to stop, but can't, you might see a baby laugh like this when it's having a really good time. So Mila, have you experiences? Have you laughed this hard? Yeah. I think it was like last weekend or like this weekend or something. I can't remember. But me and my friend were hanging out, and she, we were doing like the sprite challenge. Have you guys saw that? Tell me what that is. So it's where you have a sprite and then you try to drink it all without burping. Oh, okay. It sounds hard. And my friend, she was about to burp, and she had the sprite in her mouth because she couldn't swallow it. She was about to burp. And then she spitted out all over my desk, and I just started laughing and I fell on the floor. That sounds like a really fun and gross time. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. So for me, I think my most recent time was when I was with my family and we were watching some very silly videos of my daughter when she was little and my mom and I were losing it. And the harder she laughed, the harder I laughed, and then the harder I laughed, the harder she laughed. I would love to hear that. Yes, I wish I recorded it, but I do have a sure fire way to get me Giggling. I press this button. What's that button? It's my mark. Make me laugh button. Mark always makes me laugh. So I told him to program it with silly sayings that way anytime I need a laugh, I can just do this. Oh, hello, Molly. I didn't see you there. Well, it's the perfect time for me to read to you the ingredients of one of your favorite foods, cottage cheese. As a fancy man. Oh, ingredient one. Cheese. Ingredient. Oh, cottage. Bye-bye. Oh, okay. Mark's fancy man, like gets me truly. Okay. Okay. Sometimes when we're really cracking each other up, we have that super hard laughing that we just talked about. I call those kinds of laughs the goofies. Yeah. So awesome to laugh like that with a good friend. That shared laughter is the really magic stuff. The closer your relationship and the warmer your relationship, the more likely you are to sort of be able to use laughter together. That's Sophie Scott. She's a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College, London. And what that means is I study the human brain and I study it at a level where we're trying to sort of explain human behavior and human experience. It's just a really interesting behavior as an emotional expression to study because it's absolutely everywhere. And when you have one of the goofies, you know, an uncontrollable laughing fit, there's a lot happening in your body. The muscles between your ribs move in and out very fast, creating that, ha, ha, ha, sound. As the muscles in your core get a workout, the rest of your muscles relax, which might make it hard to hold a pencil while you're laughing. Happy fingers for real. Like I'm laughing so hard that I can't sit my jacket. Yeah, that's the goofies. You also might feel like it's a little bit harder to breathe. And Sophie says there are invisible changes happening inside our bodies too. When you laugh, your brain chemistry starts changing. Our bodies release chemicals that tell us when to feel happy or sad, tired or energetic. There's a lot of these kinds of chemicals in our brains. When you laugh, your body releases less of the brain chemicals that make you feel stressed and anxious. And more of the chemicals that make you feel good. That's why a good laughing spell can leave you feeling relaxed and happy. It is important to laugh every now and then, you know? Totally. In fact, one of the reasons we know laughter is important is because it's so, so common in the animal world. What I really like studying about laughter is that it's an ancient mammal behavior. We aren't the only animals that laugh. In fact, scientists have recorded laughter from dozens of species. We find laughter in other apes, like chimpanzees and gorillas, but you even find quite complex laughter like behavior in animals like rats. Some animals laugh when they're playing, like parrots and dolphins. But most animal laughs don't sound at all like what we think of as laughing. In fact, most of it sounds like panting or hissing. OK, so you just heard three different apes laughing, specifically an orangutan, a gorilla, and a bonobo. Still, us humans have all kinds of laughs and some sound pretty wild. So, Mila, today we're going to play a game show called... Laugh Attack. Ha ha ha. Round one. For the Laugh Attack, round one, I'm going to play you some audio and I want you to tell me if it's an animal sound or a human laugh. Sound good? Yeah. Alright, here we go. Here is sound number one. I think that was an animal. You think it was an animal? Or a baby. I think it was an animal. Which one you're going to go with? Animal or baby? Animal. You were almost right because it was a baby. Oh, so close. So close. So close. Yeah, that's a baby laugh. Adorable. Alright. Here is sound number two. That was definitely an animal. You are correct. It was. Do you know what animal it was? Pelican. It was a donkey. I have no clue what a donkey sounds like. Well, now we know. That's what a donkey. And it's pretty funny. Alright, here is sound number three. What do you think? That was an animal. You are correct. Got an idea what animal? Elephant. It was a crow. It sounds like an elephant. I know. They sound very similar to each other. I totally agree. Alright. Here is the last one of this round of laugh attack. Sound number four. I think that was a human. You are correct. Oh, I love the sounds we make when we laugh. Excellent guessing. Well, we'll be back with two more rounds of laugh attack later in the show. But first, we have another little game for you. It's the... Sound number four. Here it is. Sound number four. What do you think? It's like sandpaper maybe. Oh, very good guess. What makes you think that? I hear like a scraping noise kind of. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, well, we're going to hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer after the credits. So keep listening. We're working on an episode all about UFOs unidentified flying objects. They're mysterious. They're curious, but are they real? Imagine some aliens showed up at your front door interested in learning more about planet Earth. Where would you take them? To your favorite playground? The Science Museum? Milla, where would you take a bunch of aliens? I would take them to like a comedic show just to see how they laugh. Oh, I love that answer. Very good. How do you think an alien would laugh when it's telling us? I think it might sound like kind of close. I feel like it might feel a little squeaky or something. I think if an alien laughed, what if they just like emitted a smell instead of a sound? Like what they laughed? Maybe it smelled good. Maybe it was like when they laughed, it smells like strawberries or something. Yeah, that's interesting. I don't know. I guess we'll find out when you take them to the comedy show. Yes. Okay, can you do an impression of what you think an alien laughed my town like? It'd be like a hee hee hee hee. I love it. Well, listeners, we want to hear from you. Record yourself describing where you'd take a group of alien visitors and send it to us at brainson.org. While you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions. Like this one. How do prescription glasses work? That's brainson.org. And keep listening. Brainson! You're listening to Brainson. I'm Miller. And I'm Molly. And this is my pal, good ol' Mark Sanchez, with another random saying to make me laugh. Okay, Molly, here's a quick little game for you. Is this real? Or is it fake? Oh, that's so long. What's it you? Oh man, he does know me. He knows I think hearts are funny and the longer the better. And I'm going to say, do we think real or fake? I think it was fake. I agree. And if it was real, I'm a little worried about him. Yes. All right, well, so far we've talked about that kind of uncontrollable laughing, also known as the goofies. This kind of laugh is ancient, and it's something lots of animals do too. You'll know you've got the goofies when it's really hard to stop. When your eyes water, your face turns red, and your muscles feel like they're getting a work out. But that's not the only kind of laughing that humans do. There's another kind of laughing that's more like talking. We can control when we do it, and when we start, and when we stop. Scientists Sophie Scott calls this kind of laughter, post laughter. Post laughter is all the other kinds of laughing we do. Sometimes we laugh to make awkward situations feel less awkward. Other times we do it to show our friends that we like them. Sometimes it might happen when you're teasing your sibling. Or maybe you hear a silly joke. This laughter is different from the goofies because it's easier to control, and you can stop whenever you want. But it still doesn't mean you're making a conscious choice to laugh in these other ways. Yeah, most of these happen automatically, almost like blinking your eyes or breathing. You don't have to think about them for them to happen. When you're little, you don't do this kind of posed, conversational laughing. It happens as you get a little older, like around 10 years old. Now, we hear at Brainson know that kids are amazing, and there are lots of things they can do better than adults. We can learn languages faster. Your bodies take less time to recover after running around. Our taste buds are more sensitive. Your imaginations are truly incredible and let you solve problems in unique ways. But when it comes to laughing, there's something we're not quite as good at. Kids are not as good as adults at spotting the kind of laughter that is posed. We find that if you ask children, is this person really laughing or not? They just hear laughter. They absolutely understand laughter. They're very good at spotting laughter, but they don't hear different kinds. That's laughing expert Sophie Scott again. And it turns out that understanding this kind of posed or conversational laughing is something that we get better at as we get older. So most six year olds won't be able to spot it very well. But by the time you're 11, you'll be a little bit better. But it takes quite a long time to get really good. We don't really master spotting this kind of laughter until we're in our 30s. You can only learn about these things in social environments. So throughout your entire early adult life, you will continue to learn about it as far as we can see. It can be a real challenge to spot, which makes it the perfect subject for. Laugh attack. Round two. So this next round is going to be a bit of a challenge for our younger listeners and even some of the adults out there. But let's give it a try and see how you all do. In this round, I'm going to play you a laugh. And I want you to tell me if the person laughing has got the goofies or if it's posed laughter. Like something someone is doing as part of a conversation that they could stop if they needed to. Make sense? Yeah. Alright, here we go. Here's laugh number one. I think goofies are posed. That's a posed laughter. You are correct. Very good. Alright, here's laugh number two. What do you think? I think that's the goofies. You are correct again. Excellent work. Alright, laugh number three. What do you think? That's the goofies. You are correct again. Very, very good. Alright, here's laugh number four. Good thing. That's posed. Correct again. Excellent work, Mila. Alright, laugh number five. That's posed again. Oh my gosh, she's an expert, ladies and gentlemen. Alright, here's laugh number six. What do you think? That's the goofies. Oh my gosh, Mila. 100% correct. That was tricky. You did amazing. Better than some of the adults on the brain zontium. I have to say. Excellent work. Alright, so now that you've heard a bunch of these alafs, did you notice any similarities between the posed laughs and the set of the goofies? Let's hear them grouped together. And we can see what similarities we hear. So here are the posed laughs. Okay, and here are the goofies. Okay, so what are the differences? Do you think between the posed and the goofies when you're listening to them? So the posed sounds like more you're trying to push out air in your mouth but then with the goofies, it's more like you're trying to breathe. Yeah, that is exactly what it sounds like. Yeah, it's almost like there's more breathy almost. It's less sound. Totally. Any other similarities or differences you heard? I feel like similarities is that there's both like a normal laughing sound in it. But then another difference is like the goofies or whatever. You can hear like squeaky in the back. Yeah, they're not as pretty. Yeah. They're a little weirder. Yes. Very good observations. So some people might call the laughing where we have the goofies more real than the posed laughs. But just because laughter is posed doesn't mean it's fake. No laughter is fake. It's all serving a real purpose. That's Adrian Wood. She's another scientist who studies laughing. She's a psychologist at the University of Virginia. And she says posed laughing is more than just someone pretending. It's all doing something real and important in our interactions. So even if a person's laughter doesn't sound like they're having a really good time, it doesn't mean that they are being fake or lying to you. They are trying to send some other message. They're trying to communicate their friendliness or maybe they're trying to communicate that they think they're better than you. But whatever it is, they are sending a real message. Like we said before, all laughter is a language. And these laughs say different things. Right. So just like you made observations about how posed laughs sound different than the goofies, Adrian studies the laughing sounds that people make. And here's how she breaks it down. I've done a little bit of work looking at the different sounds laughter can contain. And so the laughter that's just pure joy, that laughter is what we think of when we say someone has a really genuine laugh. If you're a friend of laughing this way, you're probably going to start laughing even if you don't know what they, what they're laughing about. That's the goofies. Then the laughter that's used to undo the stress fullness or the tension of an interaction. Like if you're feeling a little awkward when you're interacting with someone and you give a little giggle. That laughter is much more subdued. It doesn't sound to anyone like you're having a good time. It's kind of more just releasing a little bit of tension. So it's going to be shorter and quieter. And maybe your mouth won't be open as much. This is a soothing laugh. It kind of helps people relax and awkward or tense situations. So the translation of this laugh could be, it's okay, I still like you. Here's what it might sound like. That one is really short. So let's hear it again. And then there's a kind of laughter that doesn't feel so good. When we're teasing or using our laughter, to put other people down, the laughter can sound a little bit harsher. So it'll have the same vocal properties of a dog growling or something like that. So it'll be lower. It'll be a little bit noisier. It won't be this like really pretty sound. This really pretty chuckle. It'll be maybe a little bit gruffer. The translation of this laugh could be, I don't like what you're doing. And I want you to feel embarrassed about it. Here's an example. And then there's a laugh that feels really good to hear. We make this to reward our friends. The translation of this laugh could be, what you just did made me feel good and I hope this laugh makes you feel good too. It can sound like this. Do you hear the difference? The reward laugh is, it's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal. The reward laugh is longer, higher, and more open. Here's another example. Right. And the teasing laugh is lower and a little more growly. Oh. The soothing laugh is quiet and short. Now of these three kinds of laughs, the soothing one is used the most when people are talking. We often use it at the end of the sentence to make sure people get what we're saying isn't meant in a negative way. Kind of like using a smiley emoji at the end of a text message. Oh, all this laughing leaves me craving a reward. Time for another random mark message. Can I push it this time? Go for it. You know, there's one thing that always makes Molly Bloom laugh. And that's when I call myself cram manches. You see, my name is Mark Sanchez, but when I switched the first letter of the, my first name with the first letter of my last name, it becomes cram manches. And today cram manches is fighting crime. And cram manches needs a sidekick. Molly Bloom, would you be the Bolly Bloom to my cram manches? Oh, man. That was good. Cram manches is funny to me. Yes. It just is. Is it funny to or is it really just me? I think it's just me. It's just me. I love it. Okay, Mila. Now it's time for... Laugh attack. Round three. And this round, I'm going to play you one of these three kinds of laughs recorded by our laugh scientist, Adrian. And I want you to tell me if you think the laugh is for soothing, teasing, or rewarding. This is challenging. Yes. Are you ready? Okay, here is laugh number one. What do you think? Soothing, teasing, or rewarding. Soothing. Correct. Very, very good. Here is laugh number two. Soothing, teasing, or rewarding. Teasing. Correct again. laugh expert, Mila. All right. Laugh number three. You're really good at it. Soothing, teasing, or rewarding. Teasing. This one was rewarding. They're very similar. I mean, one thing Adrian wanted to point out is that a lot of these laughs are kind of hard to categorize. Yeah. So it's a tricky one. All right. Here is the final one. Laugh number four. Teasing. Correct. Excellent work. You are a trained laugh translator now. You didn't even need much training. You're a natural. Excellent work. Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, Brains on. So no matter what kind of laughter is happening, the goofies or more posed, rewarding, or teasing, or soothing, it's all about relationships with other people. In fact, you're 30 times more likely to laugh with other people than by yourself. Molly, when's the last time you had the goofies when you were alone? Maybe never. I can't think of a time. How about you? I don't think I ever have to. Yeah, that's because laughing is a social tool and one that can make us feel really good too. So laughter is actually a very good sign of how you're really feeling. That's research or a Sophie Scott again. You know, the people that you laugh with are often the people that you're happiest with and the people you're enjoying spending time with, whether you're a child or whether you're an adult. And it's really important to make time for those moments in your day. We laugh for all different kinds of reasons and these laughs are not the same. Sometimes we get the goofies. When we laugh so hard, we can't stop. And other times, our laughs are more posed. These laughs are more like talking because they communicate things to other people. Those laughs can be soothing, teasing, or rewarding. But no matter what kind of is, laughter helps us connect with each other. That's it for this episode of Brains On. This episode was produced by Molly Bloom, Rosie DuPont, Anna Goldfield, Adirone, Woldesolassie, Anna Weggel, Nico Gonzalez Whistler, Ruby Guthrie, and Mark Sanchez. Our editors are Sandin Todd and Jail Farzon. This episode was designed by Rachel Breeze and we had engineering help from Cameron Wiley and Alex Simpson. Beth Perlman is our executive producer. The executives in charge of APM studios are Chandrakavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Eileen Kerr, Marina W. LaRoss, Sophie Scott, and Adrienne Wood. Brains On is a nonprofit public radio program. There are lots of ways to support the show. Subscribe to Brains On Universe on YouTube where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes or head to BrainsOn.org where you can send us questions, ideas, and mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. And you can subscribe to our Smarty Pass. Okay, Milla, are you ready to listen to that mystery sound again? Yes, I'm so ready. Wonderful. Okay, so last time you thought sandpaper. Do you have new thoughts? It kind of sounds like wrapping a gift or like a present now. It's a really good guess. Do I hear it one more time? Sure. Okay. What do you think? Okay, I think that's coloring like a page. Okay, okay. I love all the guesses. The all-envolved paper. I have noticed in some way. Do you want the answer? Yes. Okay, here is the answer. My name is Arthur and I come from England and that was the sound of me taking tissues out of the tissue box. Oh. I literally paid attention to that sound when I take it out. It does make a loud sound though. Yeah. You pay attention. I love it. Yeah, you were really close. I mean, the paper, the wrapping paper, I think you got closest there. Yeah. You manipulated? Excellent. Excellent work. Now it's time for the brain's honor role. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives. Elena from London, Isaac from Portland, Oregon, Nora, and Corinne from Decatur, Georgia, Legrant, Fernando from Miami, Vincent from Greenwood, Indiana, Dyson from Bethany, Ontario, Miles from Melvin, Pennsylvania, Dylan from Driftwood, Texas, Benjamin from Milwaukee, Leo from Cleveland, Sye from England, Emory from Sacramento, Dylan from North Potomac, Maryland, Kai from King Cardin, Ontario, Phoenix from London, Sam from Philadelphia, Elfie from Midland, Michigan, Peter from Woodside, New York, Nico from Portland, Oregon, Joy from Seoul, South Korea, Noah from Chino Hills, California, Isabelle from Antover, Massachusetts, Elena from Brooklyn, New York, Max and Milla from Milwaukee, Nadia from Macongi, Pennsylvania, S.G from Copquitlin, British Columbia, Merrigold from Nashville, Nari from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ali from Palo Alto, California, Addy from Rosemont, Minnesota, Ellen from Dublin, Ireland, Owen from Overland, Park Kansas, Taden from Oatana, Minnesota, Devon, Anika, and Dylan from Atlanta, Yuma from El Paso, Texas, Lowe from Palo, Sveradis, California, Julia from Mercer, Ireland, Washington, Yillin from Washington, Maple and Lyle from Portland, Maine, Aluca from Home, Set Wisconsin, Owen from Anchorage, Alaska, Desmond from Chicago, Auggie and Nova from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Calvin from Normal, Illinois, Mina from San Diego, Robin and Vera from Carmel, Indiana, Lev from Arlington, Massachusetts, Shroudi from Bangalore, India, Noella from Joshua Tree, California, Leah from Arlington, Massachusetts, Maze from Vernon, British Columbia, Chip from Sarasota, Florida, Aria from Manson, North Carolina, Kindwin and CL from Merredian, Idaho, Benjamin from Columbus, Ohio, Fia from Lake Field, Ontario, and Noa from New York City, Dara from Toronto, Pralada and Janabi from Princeton, New Jersey, Fiona from Lafayette, New York, Glory from New York City, Curran from Bentonville, Arkansas, Andrew from San Diego, Maya from Melan North Carolina, Robbie from Toronto, Henry from London, Ben from Melan North Carolina, Aaron and Audrey from Sylvain, Ohio, and Yuki from Oakland, California. We'll be back in two weeks with an episode all about unidentified flying objects or UFOs. Thanks for listening!