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Lifestyle

Ingrida Jasiukevičiūtė

67 Hilariously Random Posts That Made People Laugh Way Harder Than They Should Have

Internet

The internet is an entire universe in its own right. It’s huge, pretty much endless, and packed with everything people could possibly want, from cute cats to weird recipes and brilliant memes. Whatever you’re in the mood for, it’s out there somewhere—often right next to something you definitely didn’t ask to see.

That’s because the web doesn’t just deliver what makes sense. Sometimes it hands you something so random and unnecessary that the only reasonable response is laughing. So we gathered a collection of random, hilarious gems from all over the internet, with no theme beyond the hope that they’ll brighten your day. Find them below and upvote your favorites!

#1 Fat Husband

#2 Orange In Mcdonald’s

#3 Opposum

Honestly, who really needs a specific reason to laugh? It doesn’t matter much where the smile comes from, as long as it shows up. And whether it’s a funny series of images we’ve collected here or another compilation of animals being goofy, the goal is the same: a lighter mood and a few good giggles along the way.

While laughter comes naturally to us, it’s actually a fascinating subject. Researchers have been picking it apart for years, trying to figure out why we do it, what triggers it, and what it says about us. Along the way, they’ve uncovered plenty of interesting findings. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

#4 Worth Every Penny

#5 What Happened To This Country

#6 This Is The Best Youtube Comment Ever

For starters, it isn’t always tied to humor or a great joke. It often has less to do with punchlines and more to do with the people around us. In fact, the BBC notes that Robert R. Provine, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, found we laugh most when talking to our friends.

He did this by listening in on normal conversations at local malls with a few graduate students. And after all that eavesdropping, it turned out that out of 1,200 “laugh episodes,” only about 10 percent came from a joke. From the outside, whatever triggered those bursts of laughter often wouldn’t even register as “funny” to someone else, but it clearly worked in the moment.

In other words, laughter is often a social behavior we use to show others that we like them and understand them.

#7 Super Power

#8 The Machine Spirit Craves Noroushment

#9 No It Doesn’t

Actually, humans aren’t the only species on the planet who can laugh. Other animals can do it too. For example, researchers have recorded “tickle-induced vocalizations” in certain primates, according to Reader’s Digest. Penny Paterson, president of the Gorilla Foundation, has said that Koko, the gorilla famous for her sign language skills, even had a special “ho, ho” sound she used for visitors she liked.

Rats get a mention here as well. Their necks are apparently extra ticklish, and when Bowling Green State University scientist Jaak Panksepp and his graduate students tickled baby rats’ napes, the rodents let out high-pitched chirps that Panksepp interpreted as laughter.

#10 Polite

#11 Heehoo Peenut

#12 Coldplay

Those rats were probably having the time of their lives squealing, and it turns out we could borrow a bit of that energy for our own relationships. If you want yours to last, it doesn’t hurt to make room for a few more giggles with your partner. Being able to laugh together, especially at yourselves, is usually a pretty good sign you’re doing something right.

Berkeley psychologist Prof Bob Levenson found this when he asked couples to discuss something about their partner that annoyed them, which is never the easiest conversation. The pairs who handled it by laughing and smiling felt better right away, reported higher relationship satisfaction, and were more likely to stay together long-term. Taking notes here!

#13 At Least He's Honest

#14 He's Trying Hard

#15 Coraline

And it only gets better from here. You know the old saying that laughter is the best medicine? It turns out there’s real research behind it. According to Reader’s Digest, multiple studies have linked laughter to genuine health benefits.

Research from Loma Linda University found that laughing improved memory in adults in their 60s and 70s, while researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine reported that watching hilarious movies helped blood vessels function better and increased blood flow in a group of 20 people in their thirties.

Other studies suggest laughter may support the immune system, help regulate blood sugar, and even improve sleep.

#16 New York, New York

#17 To Infinity, And Beyond

#18 Well Played Chemistry Textbook

At the same time, laughter isn’t some magical cure that solves all your problems and turns you into the healthiest version of yourself. You’ve probably heard claims that it burns a ton of calories or doubles as a great ab workout. The reality is a bit less dramatic.

Laughing can raise your energy expenditure and heart rate by about 10–20%, but that usually translates to only around 10–40 calories for every 10–15 minutes of laughing. In fact, you’d have to keep laughing for up to three hours just to burn off a packet of chips.

#19 Peacock

#20 I Think I Would Prefer To Scrub The Counter And Eat From There

#21 Should Have Been More Accurate

Lastly, here’s a fun thing to keep in mind once you’re done giggling at all these posts. The reason you might find some of them hilarious while others do nothing for you could come down, at least in part, to genetics. In a Northwestern University study of more than 300 people, those with the short version, or allele, of the 5-HTTLPR gene were quicker to laugh at cartoons or funny movie clips than those with the long version of the gene.

That gene has long been studied in connection with depression, but this was one of the first studies to explore its link to positive emotions. “People with short alleles may flourish in a positive environment and suffer in a negative one,” said study co-author Claudia M. Haase. “While people with long alleles are less sensitive to environmental conditions.”

Either way, the takeaway is pretty simple: whatever your sense of humor looks like, it’s worth making room for a few laughs whenever you can. Without them, life would be a lot duller. And if you’re in need of a quick mood lift, you know where to go.