Endless Thread

Best of Summer: The 100-million-year origin story of laughter and humor

Mon Jul 17 2023

laughterevolutionchimpanzeeshumorSumerian joke

Description

This episode explores the origins and evolution of laughter, focusing on the Sumerian joke involving a dog entering a tavern. It discusses how laughter is not exclusive to humans, with chimpanzees exhibiting laughter-like behavior. The chapter also delves into the differences between humor in chimps and humans, the evolution of laughter in humans, and the significance of jokes and laughter in human society.

Insights

Laughter as a Communication Tool

Laughter serves as a communication tool for both chimps and humans, expressing enjoyment, happiness, and bonding.

Evolutionary Origins of Laughter

Chimpanzees exhibit laughter-like behavior, suggesting that laughter may have evolved before humans.

Different Types of Humor

Different species exhibit different types of humor, including slapstick humor observed in chimps throwing feces.

The Role of Laughter in Human Society

Laughing together builds social bonds and creates a sense of closeness, allowing humans to expand their social groups.

The Significance of Jokes and Laughter

Jokes and laughter are potentially uniquely human, allowing for the creation of fictions and myths that foster a sense of connection and community.

Summary

Transcript

The Sumerian Joke

00:01 - 08:31

This is the second installment of the Sumerian joke series.
The Sumerian joke involves a dog entering a tavern and trying to open something without thumbs.
Understanding the origins and humor of this joke can provide insights into human development and the role of humor in our species.
Laughter is not exclusive to humans; it is found in other animals as well.
Chimpanzees exhibit laughter-like behavior, which suggests that laughter may have evolved before humans.
Studying chimpanzee behavior can help us understand how jokes like the Sumerian one came to be.

Laughter in Chimpanzees

08:08 - 16:12

Chimpanzees laugh during physical contact, such as tickling or wrestling.
Chimpanzee laughter sounds different from human laughter, with a panting sound on both inhalation and exhalation.
Laughter serves as a communication tool for chimps, expressing enjoyment and happiness.
Laughter evolved from heavy breathing and is crucial for bond-building and learning in chimps.
Play fighting with laughter helps young chimps learn how to defend themselves.
Laughter prevents play fighting from escalating into real fighting in chimp groups.
Auditory cues, like joyful squealing, indicate whether play is going well or not in humans and chimps alike.
Chimps are the closest cousin species to humans, suggesting that laughter predates humans by at least 6 million years.
Different species exhibit different types of humor, including slapstick humor observed in chimps throwing feces.

Humor in Chimps and Humans

15:44 - 23:38

The perspective of witnessing a humorous event can vary between individuals and species.
A video of chimps playing with hay demonstrates a similar structure to the Sumerian joke, with a setup and punchline.
Determining what is funny to chimps versus humans is challenging.
Chimps use pant grunts as a positive vocalization that may sound like laughter but is not the same.
Humor in chimps seems to be influenced by their interactions with humans rather than being an innate behavior.
Laughter and humor have evolved differently in humans compared to other primates.
There is no strong evidence for animals in the wild displaying humor-like behavior.

Evolution of Laughter in Humans

23:17 - 31:02

Sophie, an expert in ancient humor, explains that Romans enjoyed crucifixion humor.
Human babies laugh at non-physical things like peekaboo and funny talking.
Laughing releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers.
Laughing together builds social bonds and creates a sense of closeness.
Chimps bond through laughter in close quarters with tickling and play fighting.
The evolution of human brains led to different types of laughter.
Involuntary laughter is based in different brain areas than voluntary laughter.
Involuntary laughter follows an evolutionary older pathway shared with other mammals.
Volitional laughter goes through a brain area unique to humans for voluntary control over the body.
The same brain pathway used for controlling speech is also used for volitional laughs and joke telling.
The ability to tell jokes and laugh at them likely developed simultaneously in humans.

The Significance of Jokes and Laughter

30:38 - 38:53

The Sumerian joke is evidence of humans' ability to tell fictions and myths.
Humans' ability to tell fictions allowed them to expand their social groups.
Sumerians used writing to record their fictions and jokes.
The Sumerian joke created a sense of connection and community.
The meaning of the joke is lost in translation, but that's okay.
Jokes and laughter are potentially uniquely human.
Understanding jokes from the past can be frustrating but also special.