Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Why Factor

Documentaries

Factual

The extraordinary and hidden histories behind everyday objects and actions

The Why Factor: Why do we laugh?

Omid Djalali

19/10/2012

Why do we laugh?

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Why do we laugh?

What is it that actually triggers our laughter, do all of us find the same things funny?

We laugh because we find things amusing. But what is it that actually triggers our laughter, do all of us find the same things funny?

At first glance, it seems like a very obvious basic human response - we laugh because we find things amusing. But what is it that actually triggers our laughter, do all of us find the same things funny?  

In the edition of The Why Factor, we also look beyond comedy, at laughter in our everyday lives and the role it plays in the relationships between men and women.
 
We also hear some surprising and disturbing discoveries. Why, for instance, were those who carried out the massacre at Columbine laughing as they shot dead 13 people?

(Image: Comedian Omid Djalali. Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Why Factor

Why do we laugh?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service