The internet has many strange pictures, but not all of them are funny. In fact, a few can even offend some people. For example, if there’s a misogynistic photo of a man mocking a woman, obviously, women are going to find it offensive. Unfortunately, some men will laugh unabashedly and won’t see anything wrong with it.
What I am trying to say is that humor can be very subjective. However, some things are universally funny, no matter who sees them. The pictures in this list are like that. But what makes something funny? Let’s start by understanding that.
According to expert Cathrine V. Jansson-Boyd of Psychology Today, humor is influenced by context, culture, and subjective perspectives, meaning it isn’t consistent across populations. However, she says some aspects of jokes may, more broadly, determine whether they are funny.
“If a joke is violating a norm or rule of some kind, it is more likely to be perceived as funny. Such violations need to be benign, or they can be perceived as unpleasant or even revolting. What determines whether it is benign is linked to how bad something is and how far removed we are from it. In terms of personal experience, serious events may be considered funnier over time,” she explains.
Moreover, jokes and laughter also offer multiple perks for our health. For instance, The Jed Foundation emphasizes that humor helps build resilience. It stresses that finding humor in hard things shifts your perspective and helps you stay more positive.
Moreover, when we make light of our own problematic situation, it can give us a different perspective. This can help tone down the overwhelming feeling. Also, laughter plays an important role in calming us down when we are stressed.
To elaborate on the perks of laughing at such weird pictures, let’s look at what experts at Verywell Mind have to say. They point out that laughter strengthens the immune system by increasing antibody-producing cells and improving T-cell effectiveness.
They also note that people who laugh daily have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, they add that laughter reduces the risk of developing functional disabilities and strengthens core muscles.
While we have talked about the benefits of laughter, did you know it can actually reveal much more about human social behavior? Apparently, Dr. Christian Jarrett, a cognitive neuroscientist, science writer, and author, believes that most of our laughter isn’t caused by jokes or by something funny we see.
Rather, he states that we laugh much more often when we’re the ones doing the talking, but again, we’re using this ‘voluntary laughter’ as a social device when we are with someone. He explains that it conveys feelings of closeness and playfulness to the people we’re with.
Cathrine V. Jansson-Boyd also mentioned what Dr. Jarrett had pointed out.
She commented that “people have been found to be more likely to laugh when they are near others compared to when they are alone. Children, in particular, have been found to laugh much more when they are with others, suggesting that laughter may be a social signal rather than a direct response to humor.”
