HUMOUR
Now humour is a funny thing! What is humorous to one person leaves another stone cold wondering what other people are laughing at. It is both very subjective and cultural but to be truly human is to have some humour. Perhaps it is the sixth sense unique to humans who can be amused in a way that sets them apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Whilst hyenas, monkeys and rats can sometimes be described as laughing there is no genuine evidence that it is due to humour – at best it seems to be merely physical behaviour. You may hear some people making the sound of laughter but that too can be mere physical behaviour! Take two apples, one carrot, a banana and a floppy hat – some will smile, others will give a blank stare or just see a fruit salad … best to keep that under your hat! But find the switch for any person and you might get anything from a chuckle to a gut-wrenching uncontrollable belly laugh.
- ‘Laughter crosses boundaries of class and age. Humour is universal’ – Jeremy Lloyd