[AUDIO SCRIPTS UNIT 2 GOOD TIMES GOOD FEELINGS PART A]

OK, well ... today we're starting a new topic.... It's a fun topic, but it's also
serious science. We're looking at laughter-laughter in both human beings and in
animals. Of course, human beings know how to laugh, even as babies. We laugh, we
laugh before we can talk. But human beings are not unique when it comes to laughter.
So, let's start with animals. Do apes laugh? How about, how about rats? Do rats laugh?
Strangely enough, yes they do.
Ah ... now we 're all laughing. That's because we usually laugh when we hear
other people laugh. But we'll get to that in a minute. First, let's answer the question:
Why do animals laugh? Well, one researcher led the study of rats hoping to find that
house. He, he noticed that young rats-like many young animals-like to play. And
animals like to play because it's fun. It feels good to them. So Professor Panksepp-
from Bowling Green University-began to tickle the rats .... Really! You can find
videos of it online! OK, and what did he hear? Well he heard nothing at first. The rats's
laughter was at a very high frequency-too high for human ears to hear it . But with
special equipment he was able to hear sounds from the rats when he tickled them. The
rats were having fun, and they liked to be tickled! According to the professor, the rats's
laughter is a way to communicate. It's a sound of happiness and it tells other rats "Hey!
This is fun! Let's play some more!".
Apes also like to be tickled. Tickling causes them to make a source of panting
sound. Researchers in the UK recorded a lot of apes making this sound, and they think
it's a form of laughter. Early humans probably made a similar sound, but over time,
that sound became the "ha ha" sound we know as laughter today.
So, that brings us to human beings like you and me.We all, all of us understand
laughter, and all of us-no matter what language we speak-laugh in the same way, more
or less. Doctor Robert Provine studies human laughter, and he, he noticed some
interesting things about it. First, do jokes make you laugh? Do amusing stories make
you laugh? Maybe they do. But most laughter-more than 80 percent of it-does not
happen because of a joke. Provine says that human beings laughed in social situations.
They laugh at something their friend says, or they laugh at something they see, or
again-something they see with their friends. People don't usually laugh alone.
Provine also studies comedy shows on television. One thing TV producers
know-if one person laughs, other people start to laugh. So these TV shows have a
laugh track-you know, you're watching the show, and you can hear the audience
laughing. Believe it or not, the show doesn't even have a real audience! They use
recorded laughter to encourage people at home to laugh.