Smash Boom Best Presents: Brains On - Why do we laugh?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Smash Boom Best Presents Brains On – "Why do we laugh?"

Release Date: December 25, 2025
Podcast: Smash Boom Best (Brains On Universe)
Host: Molly Bloom
Co-Host: Milla (from Minneapolis)
Featured Experts: Sophie Scott (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL) & Adrienne Wood (Psychologist, University of Virginia)

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Episode Overview

This special episode, guest-hosted by Brains On, explores the science of laughter: why we do it, how it works, the different types, and what laughter means in human relationships. With fun games, expert interviews, and lots of kid-centered energy, the show unpacks the emotional and social power of laughter—making it as educational as it is entertaining.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Many Faces of Laughter

• Laughter is Universal & Multifaceted: Molly and Milla start by sharing stories of uncontrollable laughter (“the goofies”) and the different situations where people laugh—when tickled, nervous, at jokes, or just by seeing others laugh.

  • Quote: “Laughter is like a language, and humans are really good at using and understanding that language.” — Molly Bloom (07:20)

• Personal Stories: Milla talks about her “framily” (friend-family) of cousins making her laugh hardest, and Molly shares moments of laughing with her family over silly videos.

2. The Science Behind Laughter

• Physical Effects: Laughter sets off various bodily reactions—core muscle movement, muscle relaxation (“floppy fingers”), and even difficulty breathing during the "goofies".

  • “When you laugh, your brain chemistry starts changing.” — Sophie Scott (11:02)

• Mental Benefits: The body releases stress-relieving chemicals and feel-good hormones when we laugh, which is why it feels great and leaves us relaxed.

3. Laughter in the Animal Kingdom

• Many animals laugh, including primates, rats, parrots, dolphins, gorillas, and chimps. Animal laughs often sound like panting or hissing.

  • “You even find quite complex laughter-like behavior in animals like rats.” — Sophie Scott (11:52)

• Laugh Attack Game: Milla and Molly play a game guessing whether odd laughs are animal or human in origin, showcasing the similarity and variety in laughter (13:01–14:25).

4. The Social Function of Laughter

• Laughter is Social: We are 30 times more likely to laugh with others than when alone.

  • Quote: “The people that you laugh with are often the people that you’re happiest with and the people you’re enjoying spending time with.” — Sophie Scott (30:53)

• Posed vs. Spontaneous Laughter:

  • Goofy Laughter: Uncontrollable, contagious, gives physical workout.
  • Posed Laughter: Used in social communication—like smoothing awkwardness, showing politeness, or teasing (“conversational laughter”).
    • Kids vs. Adults: Kids are not as good at spotting posed laughter until much older; adults keep learning to distinguish types into their 30s (19:27–20:11).

• Quote: “Most of these happen automatically, almost like blinking your eyes or breathing.” — Molly Bloom (18:44)

5. Types of Laughter & Their Communication

• Adrienne Wood’s Research: She explains that not all laughter is about joy; it can soothe, tease, or reward—each sounding a little different.

  • Soothe: Short, quiet, reassures (“It’s okay, I still like you.”)

  • Teasing: Lower, growlier; can feel uncomfortable (“I want you to feel embarrassed.”)

  • Rewarding: Longer, higher, open; makes others feel good (“What you did made me feel good!”)

  • Quote: “Even if a person’s laughter doesn’t sound like they’re having a really good time, it doesn’t mean that they’re being fake or lying to you. They are trying to send some other message. They’re trying to communicate their friendliness…” — Adrienne Wood (24:46)

• Game Example: Milla correctly identifies the laughter types in a fun round of Laugh Attack (28:57–30:05).

6. Laughter as a Social Tool & Emotional Signpost

• Laughter arises in relationships, builds connection, and signals comfort or happiness.
• Both kids and adults rely on laughter, not just as a reaction, but as a way to communicate nuanced social messages and strengthen bonds.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I call those kinds of laughs the goofies.” — Molly Bloom (09:48)
• “That shared laughter is the really magic stuff. The closer your relationship and the warmer your relationship, the more likely you are to sort of be able to use laughter together.” — Sophie Scott (09:52)
• “Kids are not as good as adults at spotting the kind of laughter that is posed.” — Molly Bloom (19:27)
• "No laughter is fake. It's all serving a real purpose." — Adrienne Wood (24:31)
• “So the posed sounds like more you’re trying to push out air in your mouth, but then with the goofies, it’s more like you’re trying to breathe.” — Milla (23:39)
• “In fact, you’re 30 times more likely to laugh with other people than by yourself.” — Milla (30:28)

Funniest Moment

• Molly and Mark’s “Cram Manchez” gag, involving swapping name letters and superhero banter, prompted fits of laughter—especially among the hosts. (28:02–28:44)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:04] – Introducing the episode’s guiding question: “Why do people laugh?”
• [09:48] – The ‘Goofies’ explained and why uncontrollable laughter feels great
• [10:53] – What happens in the body and brain during laughter
• [11:39] – Laughter among animals
• [12:45] – Laugh Attack Game: Guessing human or animal laughter
• [18:03] – Posed laughter vs. "the goofies"
• [19:27] – Kids’ and adults’ ability to spot different kinds of laughter
• [20:26] – Laugh Attack Round Two: Posed vs. goofy laughs
• [24:31] – Adrienne Wood on “no laughter is fake” and laughter as social communication
• [26:09] – Demonstration of soothing, teasing, and rewarding laughs
• [28:57] – Laugh Attack Round Three: Identifying the type of posed laugh
• [30:28] – Laughter as a fundamentally social behavior
• [31:12] – Episode summary and takeaways

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Conclusion

This Brains On takeover episode of Smash Boom Best is an engaging and insightful dive into the science of laughter. With expert explanations, playful games, and real-world examples, listeners come away understanding that laughter is much more than just something funny—it’s a crucial part of how humans bond, communicate, and feel good together.

Whether it’s “the goofies” or a polite smile-laugh, it all matters, it’s all real, and it helps us connect.

Transcript

[Molly Blum]

Hi, Molly, Mark and Sanon here.

[Mark Sanchez]

Say, are you in New Jersey or Southern California?

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

How about Seattle or Vancouver?

[Mark Sanchez]

If you answered yes to any of those, great news, we're headed your way.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

That's right. Brains on Live is on the road.

[Molly Blum]

Again, so watch out. Newark, Red Bank, Anaheim and San Diego, we're coming for you. Vancouver and Seattle.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

We're gonna be singing, dancing, sciencing and more, all live on St. You'll learn about the brain and guess some mystery sounds.

[Mark Sanchez]

Plus we'll have VIP events at our shows where you can see me do some magic and you can play games with us and take funny pictures with us that you'll treasure for all time.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

I've been working on my funny faces.

[Molly Blum]

Check it out.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

What do you think?

[Mark Sanchez]

Oh, so goofy. So goofy. Good job.

[Molly Blum]

Tickets go fast, so get yours. Now go to brainson.org events and if you aren't in one of those places, hang tight. We're going to be announcing more shows very soon. Can't wait to see you.

[Mark Sanchez]

Hey, speaking of magic, watch me make this announcement. Disappear a Lacazette.

[Molly Blum]

Lemonada. Hi friends, it's me, Molly. We're on a little winter break and we're gonna be back with a new smash boom battle on January 8th. Today we have an episode of the Other that I host, Brains On. This is an episode about something near and dear to every fan of smashboom. Best Laughter. We hope you enjoy the show.

[Milla]

You're listening to Brains on where we're serious about being curious. Brains on is supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

[Molly Blum]

These are excellent seats.

[Milla]

I know. I've been so curious about this show. Glad you could come with me.

[Molly Blum]

Oh, it's starting.

[Rosie Dupont]

Hello, fellow chortlers and chucklers, Gaffaws and gigglers, Hee hars and ha ha's. Welcome to she who Laughs Last.

[Milla]

Look, it's Rosie. We know her.

[Molly Blum]

I know. I'm so proud of her for putting together this one woman show.

[Rosie Dupont]

As you no doubt read in the many reviews from fine publications such as Stuff Happening on Stage magazine and that one flyer someone definitely not me put up on every telephone pole in a four mile radius. This is a show about laughter. Specifically my recreation of some of the most profound and moving laughters I have come across in my years of research. Let us begin. Laughing at the perfect knock knock joke. Laughing at an okay knock knock joke. Laughing at a bad knock knock joke. Laughing at a dog who got his head stuck in a cereal box.

[Sophie Scott]

Oh.

[Rosie Dupont]

Laughing because you got your head stuck in a cereal box. LAUGHING because your 13 year old nephew sent you a meme and you definitely get it.

[Adrienne Wood]

Oh yeah?

[Rosie Dupont]

Yeah. LAUGHING because your 13 year old nephew said the meme you sent was cringe and you're pretty sure that means he loves it.

[Sophie Scott]

See.

[Rosie Dupont]

Laughing because you farted and you don't want people to think it's you.

[Sophie Scott]

Oh, oh.

[Rosie Dupont]

And finally laughing because you farted and you do want everyone to know it was you.

[Molly Blum]

Uh huh. That was amazing. I feel like we really went on an emotional journey there.

[Milla]

Rosie's a genius. I hope this gets adapted into a feature length film. The world needs to know.

[Molly Blum]

You're listening to Brains on from APM Studios. I'm Molly Blum and my co host today is Milla from Minneapolis. Hi Milla.

[Milla]

Hi Molly.

[Molly Blum]

And today we're answering a question you sent in to us.

[Milla]

Yeah, I wanted to know why people laugh.

[Molly Blum]

This question is no laughing matter. So I'm wondering, do you feel like you're easy to make laugh?

[Milla]

Um, I don't think so, but I don't know.

[Molly Blum]

Like you're not sure? Well, we'll see today how easy you are to make laugh. So you told me that you want to be a comic actor.

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

When you grow up. So as someone who's interested in making people laugh, what do you think is the easiest way to get someone to laugh?

[Milla]

Well, most of my friends laugh when I make like a dry joke, I guess, like when it's just random, it's.

[Molly Blum]

Like random dry humor. Who in your life has your favorite laugh?

[Milla]

My uncle. Yeah, he has a funny laugh.

[Molly Blum]

Can you do an imitation of it? I love it. So who makes you laugh the hardest?

[Milla]

Probably my cousin's group.

[Molly Blum]

Okay. How many cousins are in the group?

[Milla]

I think like 13.

[Molly Blum]

But you have 13 cousins.

[Milla]

They're not like blood cousins, they're like framily.

[Molly Blum]

I love that term, framily. That's so nice. So have you guys known each other for a really long time?

[Milla]

Yeah, we've known each other since we were born.

[Molly Blum]

Can you remember a thing that made you all laugh recently?

[Milla]

I remember we were playing Floor is Lava. I think it was at Carboni's in like their parking lot. It was like a rainy day and we were like, there was like this puddle and then in the middle of the puddle there was like this little island thingy. I don't really remember what it was or why it was there, but there was. And my cousin already tried to go on it to like get to it and he was like, oh my God, that's so deep. And I didn't hear him. So I start running from behind him. And I was running so fast that I was, like, in the middle of it, and I realized that it was, like, up to my knees.

[Molly Blum]

Oh, my gosh.

[Milla]

Yeah. And then I finally got there, and then all of them were laughing at me. But I won. I won.

[Molly Blum]

You won. So it was worth it?

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

Okay, so, Mila, let's dive in to your question. We laugh for lots of reasons.

[Milla]

We laugh when we get tickled.

[Molly Blum]

We laugh when we hear a joke.

[Milla]

We sometimes laugh when we're nervous or.

[Molly Blum]

Because we see other people laughing.

[Milla]

Each of these laughs sound a little different, and they mean different things.

[Molly Blum]

Yeah. Laughter is like a language, and humans.

[Milla]

Are really good at using and understanding that language.

[Molly Blum]

When we're little, the first type of laugh we usually experience is a kind where you just can't stop. You know, when you're stomach muscles start to hurt and tears start to roll down your face when you try to stop but can't. You might see a baby laugh like this when it's having a really good time. So, Milla, have you experienced this? Have you laughed this hard?

[Milla]

Yeah, I think it was like last weekend or like this weekend or something. I can't remember. But me and my friend were hanging out and she. We were doing, like, the Sprite challenge. Have you guys saw that?

[Molly Blum]

Tell me what that is.

[Milla]

So it's where you have a Sprite and then you try to drink it all without burping.

[Molly Blum]

Okay, that sounds hard.

[Milla]

And my friend, she was about to burp, and she had the sprite in her mouth because she couldn't swallow it. She was about to burp, and then she spit it out all over my desk, and I just started laughing and I fell on the floor.

[Molly Blum]

That sounds like a really fun and gross time. I love it. Yeah. Yeah. So for me, I think my most recent time was when I was with my family and we were watching some very silly videos of my daughter when she was little, and my mom and I were losing it, and the harder she laughed, the harder I laughed. And then the harder I laughed, the harder she laughed.

[Milla]

I would love to hear that.

[Molly Blum]

Yes. I wish I recorded it. But I do have a surefire way to get me giggling. I press this button.

[Milla]

What's that button?

[Molly Blum]

It's my mark, make me laugh button. Mark always makes me laugh. So I told him to program it with silly sayings. That way, anytime I need a laugh, I can just do this.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Oh, hello, Molly. I didn't see you there. Well, it's the perfect time for me to read to you the ingredients of one of your favorite foods. Cottage cheese as a fancy man. Ingredient one, cheese. Ingredient two, a cottage. Bye. Bye.

[Molly Blum]

Okay. Mark's fancy man, like, gets me truly every time. Okay. Okay. Sometimes when we're really cracking each other up, we have that super hard laughing that we just talked about. I call those kinds of laughs the goofies.

[Milla]

Yeah. It feels so awesome to laugh like that with a good friend.

[Sophie Scott]

That shared laughter is the really magic stuff. The closer your relationship and the warmer your relationship, the more likely you are to sort of be able to use laughter together.

[Milla]

That's Sophie Scott.

[Molly Blum]

She's a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London.

[Sophie Scott]

And what that means is I study the human brain, and I study it at a level where we're trying to sort of explain human behavior and human experience. Laughter's a really interesting behavior as an emotional expression to study because it's absolutely everywhere.

[Molly Blum]

And when you have one of the goofies, you know, an uncontrollable laughing fit, there's a lot happening in your body.

[Milla]

The muscles between your ribs move in and out very fast, creating that ha, ha ha sound. As the muscles in your core get a workout, the rest of your muscles relax, which might make it hard to hold a pencil while you're laughing.

[Molly Blum]

Floppy fingers. For real. Like, I'm laughing so hard that I can't zip my jacket. Yeah, that's the goofies.

[Milla]

You also might feel like it's a little bit harder to breathe.

[Molly Blum]

And Sophie says there are invisible changes happening inside our bodies too.

[Sophie Scott]

When you laugh, your brain chemistry starts changing.

[Molly Blum]

Our bodies release chemicals that tell us when to feel happy or sad, tired or energetic. There's a lot of these kinds of chemicals in our brains.

[Milla]

When you laugh, your body releases less of the brain chemicals that make you feel stressed and anxious and more of.

[Molly Blum]

The chemicals that make you feel good. That's why a good laughing spell can leave you feeling relaxed and happy. It is important to laugh every now.

[Adrienne Wood]

And then, you know?

[Milla]

Totally. In fact, one of the reasons we know laughter is important is because it's so, so common in the animal world.

[Sophie Scott]

What I really like studying about laughter is that it's. It's. It's an ancient mammal behavior. We aren't the only animals that laugh.

[Molly Blum]

In fact, scientists have recorded laughter from dozens of species.

[Sophie Scott]

We find laughter in other apes, like chimpanzees and gorillas, but you even find quite complex laughter like behavior in animals like rats.

[Milla]

Some animals laugh when they're playing, like parrots and dolphins.

[Molly Blum]

But most animal laughs don't sound at all like what we'd think of as laughing. In fact, most of it sounds like panting or hissing. Okay, so you just heard three different apes laughing, Specifically an orangutan, a gorilla, and a bonobo. Still, us humans have all kinds of laughs, and some sound pretty wild. So, Milla, today we're going to play a game show called.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Laugh Attack. Round one.

[Molly Blum]

For Laugh Attack. Round one, I'm gonna play you some audio, and I want you to tell me if it's an animal sound or a human laugh. Sound good?

[Milla]

Yeah.

[Molly Blum]

All right, here we go. Here is sound number one.

[Milla]

I think that was the animal.

[Molly Blum]

You think it was an animal or a baby?

[Milla]

I think it was an animal.

[Molly Blum]

Which one are you gonna go with? Animal or baby?

[Milla]

Animal.

[Molly Blum]

You were almost right because it was a baby.

[Milla]

Oh, so close.

[Rosie Dupont]

We're so close.

[Molly Blum]

Yeah, that's a baby laugh. Adorable. All right, here is sound number two.

[Milla]

That was definitely animal.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct. It was. Do you know what animal it was?

[Milla]

A pelican.

[Molly Blum]

It was a donkey.

[Milla]

I have no clue what a donkey sounds like.

[Molly Blum]

Well, now we know that is what a donkey, and it's pretty funny. All right, here is sound number three.

[Milla]

What do you think that was? An animal.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct. Got an idea. Which animal?

[Milla]

An elephant.

[Molly Blum]

It was a crow.

[Milla]

Oh, it sounded like an elephant.

[Molly Blum]

I know they sound very similar to each other. I totally agree. All right, here's the last one of this round of Laugh Attack. Sound number.

[Milla]

What do you think that was? A human.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct. Oh, I love the sounds we make when we laugh. Excellent guessing. Well, we'll be back with two more rounds of Laugh Attack later in the show. But first, we have another little game for you. It's the mystery style. Here it is. What do you think?

[Milla]

Okay, I think it's like sandpaper, maybe.

[Molly Blum]

Ooh, very good guess. Yeah. What makes you think that?

[Milla]

I hear, like, a scraping noise, kind of.

[Adrienne Wood]

Hmm.

[Molly Blum]

Good. All right, well, we're gonna hear it again. Get another chance to guess and hear the answer after the credits.

[Milla]

So keep listening.

[Molly Blum]

We're working on an episode all about UFOs, unidentified flying objects. They're mysterious, they're curious. But are they real? Imagine some aliens showed up at your front door interested in learning more about planet Earth. Where would you take them? To your favorite playground? The science museum. Milla, where would you take a bunch of aliens?

[Milla]

I would take them to, like, a comedic show just to see how they laugh.

[Molly Blum]

Oh, I love that answer. Very good. Leah, how do you think an alien would laugh. Would it sound like us?

[Milla]

I think it might sound like kind of close. I feel like it might be a little squeaky or something.

[Molly Blum]

I think if an alien laughed, what if they just, like, emitted a smell instead of a sound, like when they laughed? Maybe it smelled good. Like, maybe it was like, when they laugh, it smells like strawberries or something.

[Milla]

Yeah, that's. That's interesting.

[Molly Blum]

I don't know. I guess we'll find out when you take them to the comedy show.

[Milla]

Yes.

[Sophie Scott]

Okay.

[Molly Blum]

Can you do an impression of what you think an alien laugh might sound like?

[Milla]

It'd be like a hehe.

[Molly Blum]

I love it. Well, listeners, we want to hear from you. Record yourself describing where you'd take a group of alien visitors and send it to [e-mail] while you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions like this one.

[Milla]

How do prescription glasses work?

[Molly Blum]

That's brainson.org and keep listening.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Brains On.

[Milla]

You're listening to Brains On. I'm Milla.

[Molly Blum]

And I'm Molly, and this is my pal, good old Mark Sanchez, with another random saying to make me laugh.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Okay, Molly, here's a quick little game for you. Is this real or is it fake?

[Molly Blum]

That's so long.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

What say you?

[Molly Blum]

Oh, man, he does know me. He knows I think farts are funny, and the longer, the better. And I'm gonna say, did we think real or fake?

[Milla]

I think it was fake.

[Molly Blum]

I agree.

[Milla]

Yeah.

[Molly Blum]

And if it was real, I'm a little worried about him.

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

All right. Well, so far, we've talked about that kind of uncontrollable laughing, also known as the goofies.

[Milla]

This kind of laugh is ancient, and it's something lots of animals do too.

[Molly Blum]

You'll know you've got the goofies when it's really hard to stop, when your eyes water, your face turns red, and your muscles feel like they're getting a workout.

[Milla]

But that's not the only kind of laughing that humans do.

[Molly Blum]

There's another kind of laughing that's more like talking. We can control when we do it and when we start and when we stop.

[Milla]

Scientist Sophie Scott calls this kind of laughter posed laughter.

[Molly Blum]

Posed laughter is all the other kinds of laughing we do. Sometimes we laugh to make awkward situations feel less awkward.

[Milla]

Other times, we do it to show our friends that we like them.

[Molly Blum]

Sometimes it might happen when you're teasing.

[Milla]

Your sibling, or maybe you hear a silly joke.

[Molly Blum]

This laughter is different from the goofies because it's easier to control, and you can stop whenever you want.

[Milla]

But it still doesn't mean you're making a conscious choice to laugh in these other ways.

[Molly Blum]

Yeah, most of these happen automatically, almost like blinking your eyes or breathing.

[Milla]

You don't have to think about them for them to happen.

[Molly Blum]

When you're little, you don't do this kind of posed conversational laughing. It happens as you get a little older, like around 10 years old. Now, we here at Brainson know that kids are amazing and there are lots of things they can do better than adults.

[Milla]

We can learn languages faster.

[Molly Blum]

Your bodies take less time to recover after running around.

[Milla]

Our taste buds are more sensitive.

[Molly Blum]

Your imaginations are truly incredible and let you solve problems in unique ways.

[Milla]

But when it comes to laughing, there's something we're not quite as good at.

[Molly Blum]

Kids are not as good as adults at spotting the kind of laughter that is posed.

[Sophie Scott]

We find that if you ask children is this person really laughing or not, they. They just hear laughter. They, they absolutely understand laughter. They're very good at spotting laughter, but they don't hear different kinds.

[Molly Blum]

That's laughing expert Sophie Scottigan. And it turns out that understanding this kind of posed or conversational laughing is something that we at as we get older.

[Milla]

So most 6 year olds won't be able to spot it very well, but by the time you're 11, you'll be a little bit better, but it takes.

[Molly Blum]

Quite a long time to get really good. We don't really master spotting this kind of laughter until we're in our 30s.

[Sophie Scott]

You can only learn about these things in social environments. So throughout your entire early adult life, you are continuing to learn about it. As far as we can see, it.

[Molly Blum]

Can be a real challenge to spot, which makes it the perfect subject for.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Laugh Attack Round two.

[Molly Blum]

So this next round is going to be a bit of a challenge for our younger listeners and even some of the adults out there. But let's give it a try and see how you all do. In this round, I'm going to play you a laugh and I want you to tell me if the person laughing has got the goofies or if it's posed laughter, like something someone is doing as part of a conversation that they could stop if they needed to make sense.

[Milla]

Yeah.

[Molly Blum]

All right, here we go. Here's laugh number one. What do you think? Goofies or posed?

[Milla]

That's a posed laughter.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct. Very good. All right, here's laugh number two. What do you think?

[Milla]

I think that's the goofies.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct again. Excellent work. All right, laugh number three. What do you think?

[Milla]

That's the goofies.

[Molly Blum]

You are correct again. Very, very good. All right, here's laugh number. What do you think that's posed correct again. Excellent work, Milla. All right, laugh number five.

[Milla]

What do you think that's posed again?

[Molly Blum]

Oh, my gosh. She's an expert, ladies and gentlemen. All right, here's laugh number six.

[Milla]

What do you think that's the goofies.

[Molly Blum]

Oh, my gosh, Milla. 100% correct. That was tricky. You did amazing. Better than some of the adults on the brainzone team, I have to say. Excellent work. All right, so now that you've heard a bunch of these laughs, did you notice any similarities between the pose laughs and the set of the goofies? Let's hear them grouped together and we can see what similarities we hear. So here are the posed laughs. Okay. And here are the goofies. Okay, so what are the differences, do you think, between the posed and the goofies when you're listening to them?

[Milla]

So the posed sounds like more you're trying to push out air in your mouth, but then with the goofies, it's more like you're trying to breathe.

[Molly Blum]

I love it. Yeah, that is exactly what it sounds like. Yeah, it's almost like there's, like, more breathy, almost like less sound. Totally. Any other similarities or differences you heard?

[Milla]

I feel like similarities is that there's both, like a normal laughing sound in it. But then another difference is like the goofies or whatever, you can hear, like squeakies in the background when you laugh.

[Molly Blum]

Yeah, they're not as pretty. Yeah, they're a little weirder.

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

Very good observations. So some people might call the laughing where we have the goofies more real than the posed laughs.

[Milla]

But just because laughter is posed doesn't mean it's fake.

[Adrienne Wood]

No, laughter is fake. It's all serving a real purpose.

[Milla]

That's Adrienne Wood. She's another scientist who studies laughing.

[Molly Blum]

She's a psychologist at the University of Virginia, and she says posed laughing is more than just someone pretending.

[Adrienne Wood]

It's all doing something real and important in our interactions. So even if a person's laughter doesn't sound like they're having a really good time, it doesn't mean that they are being fake or lying to you. They are trying to send some other message. They're trying to communicate their friendliness. Or maybe they're trying to communicate that they think they're better than you. But whatever it is, they are sending a real message.

[Milla]

Like we said before, all laughter is a language. And these laughs say different things.

[Molly Blum]

Right. So just like you Made observations about how posed laughs sound different than the goofies. Adrian studies the laughing sounds that people make, and here's how she breaks it down.

[Adrienne Wood]

I've done a little bit of work looking at the different sounds laughter can contain. And so the. The laughter that's just pure joy. That laughter is what we think of when we say someone has a really genuine laugh. If your friend is laughing this way, you're probably going to start laughing even if you don't know what they. What they're laughing about.

[Milla]

That's the goofies.

[Adrienne Wood]

Then the laughter that's used to undo the stressfulness or the tension of an interaction. Like, if you're feeling a little awkward when you're interacting with someone and you give a little gig, that laughter is much more subdued. It doesn't sound to anyone like you're having a good time. It's kind of more just releasing a little bit of tension. So it's going to be shorter and quieter and maybe your mouth won't be open as much.

[Milla]

This is a soothing laugh. It kind of helps people relax in awkward or tense situations.

[Molly Blum]

So the translation of this laugh could be, it's okay, I still like you. Here's what it might sound like. That one is really short, so let's hear it again.

[Milla]

And then there's a kind of laughter that doesn't feel so good.

[Adrienne Wood]

When we're teasing or using our laughter to put other people down. The laughter can sound a little bit harsher. So it'll have the same vocal properties of a dog growling or something like that. So it'll be lower, it'll be a little bit noisier. It won't be this, like, really pretty sound, this really pretty chuckle. It'll be maybe a little bit gruffer.

[Molly Blum]

The translation of this laugh could be, I don't like what you're doing and I want you to feel embarrassed about it. Here's an example.

[Milla]

And then there's a laugh that feels really good to hear. We make this to reward our friends.

[Molly Blum]

The translation of this laugh could be, what you just did made me feel good, and I hope this laugh makes you feel good too. It can sound like this. Do you hear the difference? The reward laugh is longer, higher and more open. Here's another example. And the teasing laugh is lower and a little more growly. The soothing laugh is quiet and short. Now, of these three kinds of laughs, the soothing one is used the most when people are talking. We often use it at the end of the sentence to make sure people get what we're saying isn't meant in a negative way.

[Milla]

Kind of like using a smile emoji at the end of a text message.

[Molly Blum]

Whew. All this laughing leaves me craving a reward. Time for another random Mark message.

[Milla]

Can I push it this time?

[Molly Blum]

Go for it.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

You know, there's one thing that always makes Molly Bloom laugh, and that's when I call myself Cram Manchez. You see, my name is Mark Sanchez, but when I switched the first letter of the my first name with the first letter of my last name, it becomes Cram Manchez. And today, Cram Manchez is fighting crime. And Cram Manchez needs a sidekick. Molly Bloom, would you be the Bali Mo to my Cram Manchez?

[Molly Blum]

Oh, man, that was good. Cram Manchester is funny to me. It just is. Is it funny to you, or is it really just me?

[Milla]

I think it's just.

[Molly Blum]

It's just me. I love it. Okay, Milla, now it's time for.

[Mark Sanchez (as Cram Manchez)]

Laugh Attack. Round three.

[Molly Blum]

In this round, I'm going to play you one of these three kinds of laughs recorded by our laugh scientist, Adrian. And I want you to tell me if you think the laugh is for soothing, teasing, or rewarding. This is challenging.

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

Are you ready?

[Milla]

Yeah.

[Molly Blum]

Okay, here is laugh number one. What do you think? Soothing teasing or rewarding Soothing. Correct. Very, very good. Here is laugh number two. Soothing teasing or rewarding teasing. Correct again, laugh expert, Milla. All right, laugh number three. Soothing teasing, rewarding teasing. This one was rewarding. They're very similar. I mean, one thing Adrian wanted to point out is that a lot of these laughs are kind of hard to categorize.

[Milla]

Yeah.

[Molly Blum]

So it's a tricky one. All right, here is the final one. Laughs. Laugh number four.

[Milla]

Teasing.

[Molly Blum]

Correct. Excellent work. You are a trained laugh translator now. You didn't even need much training. You're a natural. Excellent work. So no matter what kind of laughter is happening, the goofies or more posed, rewarding or teasing or soothing, it's all about relationships with other people.

[Milla]

In fact, you're 30 times more likely to laugh with other people than by yourself. Molly, when's the last time you had the goofies when you were alone?

[Molly Blum]

Um, maybe never. I can't think of a time. How about you?

[Milla]

I don't think I ever have, too.

[Molly Blum]

Yeah, that's because laughing is a social tool and one that can make us feel really good, too.

[Sophie Scott]

So laughter is actually a very good sign of how you're really feeling.

[Milla]

That's researcher Sophie Scott.

[Sophie Scott]

Again, you know, the people that you laugh with are often the people that you're happiest with and the people you're enjoying spending time with, whether you're a child or whether you're an adult. And it's really important to make time for those moments in your day.

[Milla]

We laugh for all different kinds of reasons, and these laughs are not the same.

[Molly Blum]

Sometimes we get the goofies when we laugh so hard we can't stop.

[Milla]

And other times our laughs are more posed.

[Molly Blum]

These laughs are more like talking because they communicate things to other people. Posed laughs can be soothing, teasing, or rewarding.

[Milla]

But no matter what kind it is, laughter helps us connect with each other.

[Molly Blum]

That's it for this episode of Brains On.

[Milla]

This episode was produced by Molly Bloom, Rosie Dupont, Anna Goldfield, Otterone, Wolda Selassie, Anna Wego, Nico Gonzalez Whistler, Ruby Guthrie and Mark Sanchez.

[Molly Blum]

Our editors are Sandon Totten and Jayla Farzon. This episode was sound designed by Rachel Brees and we had engineering help from Cameron Wiley and Alex Simpson. Beth Pearlman is our executive producer. The executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Eileen Kerr, Marina Davila Ross, Sophie Scott and Adrienne Wood.

[Milla]

Brainzon is a non profit public radio program.

[Molly Blum]

There are lots of ways to support the show. Subscribe to Brainzon universe on YouTube where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes. Or head to brainzon.org where you can send us questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives.

[Milla]

And you can subscribe to our smarty pass.

[Molly Blum]

Okay, Milla, are you ready to listen to that mystery sound again?

[Milla]

Yes, I'm so ready.

[Molly Blum]

Wonderful. Okay, so last time you thought sandpaper. Do you have new thoughts?

[Milla]

It kind of sounds like wrapping a gift or like a present.

[Molly Blum]

Now it's a really good guess. Do you want to hear it one more time?

[Milla]

Sure.

[Molly Blum]

Okay. What do you think?

[Milla]

Okay. I think that's coloring like a page.

[Molly Blum]

Ooh. Okay. Okay. I love all the guesses. They all involve paper, I've noticed in some way. Do you want the answer?

[Milla]

Yes.

[Molly Blum]

Okay, here is the answer.

[Milla]

My name is Arthur and I come from England. And that was the sound of me taking tissues out of the tissue box. Oh, that's interesting. I don't really pay attention to that sound when I take it out.

[Molly Blum]

It does make a loud sound, though, when you pay attention. I love it. Yeah, you were really close. I mean, the paper, the full. The wrapping paper, I think you got closest there. Paper being manipulated. Excellent. Excellent work. Now it's time for the brains honor roll. These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery, sounds, drawings and high fives. Alaina from london isaac from portland, oregon nora and corinne from decatur, georgia allegra and fernando from miami vincent from greenwood, indiana dyson from bethany, ontario miles from melvin, pennsylvania dylan from driftwood, texas benjamin from milwaukee leo from cleveland, cy from england emery from sacramento dylan from north potomac, maryland kai from kincardine, ontario phoenix from london sam from philadelphia alfie from midland, michigan peter from woodside, new york nico from portland, oregon joy from seoul, south korea noah from chino hills, california isabelle from andover, massachusetts ina from brooklyn, new york max and mila from milwaukee nadia from makungi, pennsylvania sg from coquitlam, british columbia marigold from nashville nari from grand rapids, michigan ally from palo alto, california addie from rosemont, minnesota ellen from dublin, ireland owen from overland park, kansas tayden from owatana, minnesota devin, annika and dylan from atlanta yuma from el paso, texas loe from palos verdes, california julia from mercer island, washington yillen from washington maple and lyle from portland, maine luca from homestead, wisconsin owen from anchorage, alaska desmond from chicago augie and nova from lancaster, pennsylvania calvin from normal, illinois mina from san diego robin and vera from carmel, indiana lev from arlington, massachusetts shruti from bangalore, india noella from joshua tree, california leah from arlington, massachusetts maisie from vernon, british columbia chip from sarasota, florida aria from manson, north carolina kynewin and cl from meridian, idaho benjamin from columbus, ohio fia from lakefield, ontario and noah from new york city dara from toronto, prahlota and genavi from princeton, new jersey fiona from lafayette, new york glory from new york city curran from bentonville, arkansas andrew from san diego maya from raleigh, north carolina robbie from toronto henry from london ben from raleigh, north carolina erin and audrey from sylvania, ohio and yuki from oakland, california. We'll be back in two weeks with an episode all about unidentified flying objects or UFOs.

[Milla]

Thanks for listening.