Imperial Valley press., 1937-05-02

h gOTHING will bring serious expires
~ sion to the face of a scientist than to con-
slider the mystery of laughter.
People can-and do!-laugh at almost any,
thing. Sometimes it is subtle humor, sometimes
it is the droll two-edged PHILOSOPHERS of such
men as the late Will Rogers sometimes it is the
gag, wisecrack-and sometimes it is but the
spontaneous outburst - the combination of
mental and physical reactjon-to a specific cir
cUmstance or remark
Laughter is a quality that goes all the way
from n well modulated chuckle to a boisterous
guffaw-and while no one is quite certain what
produces it, or where it will express itself, it has
been established that laughter is healthy In
fact, the man with stimulating sense of humor
is more likely to have healthy mind and body
than the one who has not.
It's almost impossible to show what is
meant by something funny" when he has never
cultivated his "funnybone," and lacks any sort
of sense of humor; to him joke has little
point and he may be the finest kind of fellow
and still quiet smile will be his limit. He isn't
what is called a "risible person, and it's quite
useless to try and explain that intangible
thing which makes a situation funny" But
while in its mental aspects laughter remains
mystery, its definite physical reactions many
and all of them are beneficial. A good laugh
affects the movement of the diaphragm and the
activity of such organs the heart lungs, liver,
pancreas, ductless glands spleen and stomach
and helps each of these to do their work more
efficiently by mildly increasing the circulation
and acting as a kind of "vibratsry massage"
which heightens PERSONS resistance to disease.
It may physicians believe, add years to in
dividual's life.
To philosophers laughter is one of the quail
tiles peculiar to mankind not shared by animals
although everyone who loves pets knows that
while they may not actually laugh, they do
often smile and show good nature and pleasure.
A true sense of humor causing loud mirth is a
different matter and has been said to be a true
test of civilization.
Civilization varied the amount of
soap used" said one scholar "but the formula
has changed, since soap is but skin deep and
laughter goes all the way through"
And the newest formula for vibrant physical
well-being is health and laughter. In personal
and business life, scientists report, the man who
can chuckle at trouble has ten times more hope
of maintaining his health than man who is
constantly upset and worried. Doctors records
show that-"peope who like to laugh enjoy
longer and happier existance than those who are
fretful and dstraught, because laughs are good
for the system!
'G"HE amazingly saluatory action of hearty
laugh is no respector of persons. Other
stimulants are hard to regulate, but sound
sense of humor is surrounded by natural safe
guards that make it one of the rare habits pa
ticnts advised to acquire
Trained psychologists see in laughter a bal
ance to the fast pace of modern life. 1t becomes
more impossible every year to determine where
a physicians work ends and a psychiatrists
begins, for the activities of mind and body ac-
cordng to scientists in both fields, are known
tc be so intricately dependent upon each other
that few can say which is in actual control.
One thing is certain-researches have dis
closed that from ancient times to the present
age, philosophers, teachers and physicians have
believed that sense of humor was mans one
weapon which no adverse fate could destroy.
Healthy and happy children laugh easily
young men at work and play laugh naturally
and without effort-and mature men who have
learned through experience that material sue
,