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This baboon being wowed by a magic trick hints at the profound nature of humor

Humans aren't the only species with a sense of humor.

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For instance, this baboon thinks a disappearing card magic trick is hilarious:

And he (or she) is not alone on the primate family tree.

A simple cup trick made this young orangutan literally roll on the floor:

In a kill-or-be-killed world that animals live in, what is the purpose of humor or laughter?

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Scientists have studied what makes primates laugh, and it's likely used as a playtime signal that developed as an "all's well" grunt during roughhousing.

Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK studied laughter in all five great apes — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans, and human babies — and found we all giggle when tickled. This suggests that our laughter developed in a common ape ancestors. (Fun fact: The study refers to primate laughter as the comically scientific "acoustics of tickle-induced vocalizations.")

Another study found that laughter helps us apes to socialize more effectively. Grooming is a big part of social primate bonding, though we're really only able to groom another individual at once. Laughter releases endorphins in the same way as grooming, but its endorphin effect can be felt by more than one ape at a time.

And that's the critical if not profound difference: In most apes, laughter ends at adulthood. But humans (and bonobos) keep it up into adulthood.

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By virtue of pulling together large numbers of individuals in feel-good moments, this may have helped humans develop complex societies.

It may also be why humor is so varied and universal in humans: It allowed us to expand our social circles to much larger numbers than other apes.

Humor Animals
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