"Humor research is seen as a non-serious topic," Rod Martin, author of The Psychology of Humor: An Integrative Approach, one of the preeminent books in the field, explained.
"Scientists always want to make sure their work is respectable, and to be doing research on humor is seen as not respectable enough. People think there are a lot of other, really pressing problems we have to try to solve."
But when you think about it, isn't humor one of the most important topics of our everyday lives?
"Humor is everywhere," Peter McGraw, Ph.D., who is a behavioral economist, a professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado's Leeds School of Business, said.
"Laughter is one of the first things you do as a newborn, and, if all goes well, it will be one of the last things you do before you die. Try going through a day without so much as a chuckle, and you'll find that it's downright impossible. And those chuckles occur much more frequently than other commonly researched emotions like regret, pride, and shame."
So what do we get from seeing a funny sign when walking down the road, exactly? Turns out, a lot.
"Humor appears to help people's psychological and physical well-being, for example, helping folks cope with stress and adversity," McGraw said.
But that's just scratching the surface. "[It also] seems to help people grieve: Dacher Keltner and colleagues found that people who spontaneously experienced amusement and laughter when discussing a deceased spouse showed better emotional adjustment in the years following the spouse's death."
As mentioned, it even has physical benefits. "Laughter — especially a hearty laugh — has been shown to benefit your circulation, lungs, and muscles (especially those around the belly area)."
"Humor also helps people deal with pain and physical adversity. Hollywood even made a movie, Patch Adams, about the benefits of humor in clinical settings."
However, don't worry even if your friends are laughing at a billboard and you don't understand what all the fuss is about.
Rebecca Schwarzlose, a cognitive neuroscientist researching brain and cognitive development at Washington University in Saint Louis, says missing the point is part of human nature.
"You perceive only a small fraction of the energy and information buzzing all around you," Schwarzlose explained. "Much of that ... information goes unseen and unfelt because your body lacks the capacity to detect it."
