All posts tagged: laughter

Regina Hall: ‘I’ve had heartbreak and disappointments, and joy and peace and laughter’

Regina Hall: ‘I’ve had heartbreak and disappointments, and joy and peace and laughter’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter In much of her work but in particular the Scary Movie franchise, Regina Hall is comfortably the funniest woman of 21st century cinema. In those horror spoofs, she specialises in immaculately smart-stupid, stupid-smart character work, clown by way of a mad scientist. To call her loud on-screen feels disrespectful. Outrageous, even more so. Think of her prime skillset as more like a kind of avant-garde insanity, built upon line readings (“Cindy, the TV’s leaking”; “Cindy, this is a skeleton! This is bones!”) that have been made immortal by memes, TikToks and YouTube compilations. I find Hall hilarious. Does she? “Hmm!” she exclaims, down the phone from her current base in New Jersey, where she’s been filming. “I know that my friends are funny. I have a funny family for sure.” I sense she’s thinking of it like mathematics. Funny person plus …

Differences in human and great ape laughter reveal clues to the origin of speech

Differences in human and great ape laughter reveal clues to the origin of speech

Published by skeptic

Humans are not the only animals that communicate. Birds sing to attract mates, dolphins use signature whistles that identify individuals, and many primates produce complex vocalisations that help them coordinate their social lives. By studying these communication systems, researchers can reconstruct some of the evolutionary steps that eventually led to one of our defining traits: language. Language doesn’t just mean making sounds – it requires an extraordinary ability to control them. Human speech demands precise coordination between breathing, the vocal folds across the larynx, and our tongue, lips and jaw. Humans’ closest living relatives – chimpanzees and bonobos – possess vocal tracts that are more similar to ours than scientists once believed. Yet they do not seem to have the same fine voluntary control over the structures – starting with our lips and tongue – that allow us to produce rapid sequences of speech and such diverse sounds. This raises an intriguing question: when did our ancient ancestors begin to acquire this remarkable vocal control? One possible clue comes from an unexpected source: laughter. The …

Couples Who Actually Like Being Around Each Other Usually Do These 6 Sweet Relationship Habits Together

Couples Who Actually Like Being Around Each Other Usually Do These 6 Sweet Relationship Habits Together

Published by Jenni Sidey

Quality time can get lost fast. Every relationship has responsibilities that compete for attention, from work and family obligations to chores, stress, and endless notifications. Yet some couples still genuinely like being around each other, even on a totally ordinary day. They don’t need elaborate date nights or constant excitement to feel connected. Whether they’re grocery shopping, folding laundry, or sitting together after a long day, couples who actually enjoy spending time together tend to share sweet relationship habits that make closeness feel simple and natural. While every relationship is different, research consistently shows that small, consistent behaviors often matter more than occasional grand romantic gestures. Couples who actually like being around each other practice these 6 sweet relationship habits together: 1. They have simple routines that help them stay connected Thirdman / Pexels The happiest couples usually have little routines that belong only to them, such as drinking coffee together every morning, taking a walk after dinner, watching one episode of a favorite show before bed, or sending each other funny memes throughout the …

The Thing That Actually Kept Our Marriage Together Had Nothing To Do With Love

The Thing That Actually Kept Our Marriage Together Had Nothing To Do With Love

Published by Jenni Sidey

Love wasn’t the only thing that kept our marriage together. Standing in my lacy white dress with a bouquet of roses, I saw a beautiful forever in his eyes as we said our vows. Visions of romantic walks along the beach, sweet kisses, and a lifetime of happy memories danced before my eyes as we stood before our family and friends. At the age of 23, I thought marriage would be the greatest blessing in life. Fast forward five years and the vision of perfection has melted away into screaming fights over dirty laundry and unfinished to-do lists. The walks along the beach have been traded for snoring, drooling naps on the sofa that desperately needs sweeping, and the sweet kisses are fewer and farther between. The promises of our “I do’s” are often forgotten in our screaming battles over money, chores, and day-to-day drudgery found in adult life. The thing that actually kept our marriage together had nothing to do with love Jennifer Lim-Tamkican / Unsplash RELATED: The Thing That Kept Our Marriage Together Had Absolutely …

Apes and humans share an ancient laughter rhythm dating back 15 million years

Apes and humans share an ancient laughter rhythm dating back 15 million years

Published by Jenni Sidey

A laugh can feel spontaneous, messy, almost impossible to pin down. But deep inside that burst of sound, researchers found a timing pattern so stable that it may have survived for 15 million years, long before humans began to speak. That pattern appears across all living great apes, according to a study in Communications Biology led by researchers at the University of Warwick. By comparing laughter from orangutans, gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees, and humans, the team found that each species produces laughter with evenly spaced intervals between successive sounds. The finding points to a striking possibility. A basic rhythmic structure in laughter may already have been present in the common ancestor shared by all great apes, then preserved across millions of years of evolution even as species moved in different directions. “How did humans evolve the remarkable ability to speak?” said Dr. Chiara De Gregorio, an honorary research associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick. “Speech leaves no fossils, and complex language exists only in our own species. But we’ve found a …

Princess Anne left ‘roaring with laughter’ over adorable dog in royal moment you might have missed

Princess Anne left ‘roaring with laughter’ over adorable dog in royal moment you might have missed

Published by Daniella Wilson

Queen Camilla’s rescue pup, Moley, stole our hearts on Friday evening when she had a surprising starring role in the King’s birthday message to Sir David Attenborough. But there was another adorable royal moment that stole our hearts just hours before. Princess Anne had quite the interaction, which will have no doubt delighted royal fans when she attended the first garden party of the season earlier this week. © POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesVegas left Anne ‘roaring with laughter’ after she decided to ‘dig for truffles’ The Princess Royal, as well as King Charles, met two-year-old coker spaniel pooch Vegas, who serves as a hearing dog for the deaf. After greeting the royals by affectionately jumping up and licking their hands, Vegas was formally introduced by her owner, Kate Wilson, 52, from Horsham, West Sussex. Kate told the Princess, who is patron of Hearing Dogs for the Deaf charity,  that the cocker spaniel is her first hearing service dog. “And does she help you? That’s all working well?” Anne asked.”Oh, she really helps me,” Wilson agreed. “I …

You Can Figure Out The Kind Of Person Someone Is By What Makes Them Laugh

You Can Figure Out The Kind Of Person Someone Is By What Makes Them Laugh

Published by Jenni Sidey

Laughter can provide many quantifiable benefits, from calorie burning to stress relief. Additionally, a good belly laugh is a natural endorphin inducer and generally makes everyone feel good.  That said, humor isn’t universal. Some may shy away from certain types, like sarcasm, self-deprecating jokes, or jokes that make another person the punchline. And, adversely, those same jokes may make another person crack up.  That’s why personality plays a huge role in what makes someone laugh. In essence, you can get a sense of someone simply by what makes them laugh, from dark humor to dad jokes. Personality type expert Merrick Rosenberg is a firm believer in the theory that what makes people laugh is a good indicator of what kind of person they are.  You can almost always figure out the kind of person someone is by what makes them laugh, explains personality type expert. Merrick Rosenberg, an award-winning speaker, author, entrepreneur, CEO, and self-described “personality ninja,” shared in a TikTok video, “that joke you can’t stop laughing about is revealing who you are,” and psychologists …

Why is laughter contagious? Blame your brain.

Why is laughter contagious? Blame your brain.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. I still remember the time I was sitting in class when the teacher asked me to read a passage out loud. Just seconds before, some classmates had started giggling about something, and it was contagious. As I read aloud, I tried to stay serious, but kept dissolving into fits of laughter. I knew our strict, no-nonsense teacher would not be impressed, but I couldn’t stop. You’ve probably been there, too: laughing when you’re not supposed to, trying to hold it in, and somehow that only making it worse. So why is laughter so hard to control? Laughter is not completely under your control Research suggests that there are two kinds of laughs: helpless, involuntary laughter (like the kind I was experiencing in that class) and polite, social laughter (like when your friend tells a joke and you laugh because you like your friend, not because the joke is funny). Different parts of the brain drive each type of laughter. …

Why scientists can’t get a laugh

Why scientists can’t get a laugh

Published by skeptic

A newly published survey of more than 500 science conference presentations across a two-year period set out to determine whether scientists are funny, which is itself funny, if not the most productive use of time. The results were about what you’d expect: two-thirds of attempts at humor garnered either polite chuckles or straight-up dead silence, and only 9% landed well enough to get most of the room laughing. The biggest laughs, also unsurprisingly, came from technical snafus, like slides malfunctioning and mics cutting out. (Nothing brings an audience together faster than watching something go wrong for someone else.) Anyone who has sat through a conference on any topic, anywhere, knows scientists don’t have a monopoly on bombing. Humor is hard to pull off in front of any audience that hasn’t been warmed up. Even SNL calls its opening segment a “cold open” — the audience hasn’t laughed at anything yet, which makes that first laugh the hardest one to get. Roughly 40% of the talks just avoided humor entirely, which is safe but probably makes …