Highly Contagious Outbreak in Germany- How Long Until You Catch it?! [Video]

WATCH THIS FIRST!





So...
HOW LONG UNTIL YOU STARTED LAUGHING?!?


As our social world develops further, we share laughter with others in a myriad of different ways.
Sometimes we even find ourselves laughing just because other people laugh, even if we don’t know why they are laughing.
JUST LIKE IN THE VIDEO!
This demonstrates a kind of behavioral and emotional contagion involved with laughter- same with 'contagious yawning'- the reigning theory on these phenomena, is that they occur as a result of empathy.

During states of high emotional arousal (i.e. joy, pain), we often use non-verbal sounds to communicate.
Laughter is one of them, and is typically understood as an expression of happiness, joy, or surprise.

Sometimes, though, it is expressed when we are stressed- i.e. 'nervous laughter'.
This is a healthy coping mechanism, and often times humor can be seen as an important reframe to an otherwise unpleasant experience.

For us human beings, laughter plays a universal role throughout other cultures to facilitate social bonding.
But research is showing that we may not be alone! This may also be true within other species.
For example, scientists have observed laughter among chimpanzees, bonobos, rats, birds, and even penguins!

Experiment Reveals That Rats Laugh When Tickled/Playing-



Cookie- the famous laughing penguin!



Owl laughing while being tickled-



"Laughter is the best medicine."

Ever had a good long laugh, where your stomach begins to ache, and you feel like a million bucks?
Laughter produces endorphins in our brain that make us feel immediately better and relieved afterward.

Laughter is good for our physical health too.
Laughing relaxes muscles, lowers stress hormones, boosts the immune system, and even helps prevent heart disease:
A study conducted in 2005 by the University of Maryland Medical Center showed a significant correlation between laughter and healthier blood vessel/blood flow.

Laughter has also been demonstrated as a preventive adjunct therapy in diabetes care:
it raises good cholesterol and lowers inflammation in the heart.


In September of this year (2011),
Discovery News released an article discussing some of the newest information/findings on this subject:

The Gist:
Just 15 minutes of laughter increased the level of pain tolerance by 10 percent.
The kind of laughter that works is a belly aching laugh that usually only happens when you are with others.
Previous studies have focussed more on why humans laugh, as opposed to how they do it.

***LINK to article:
Laughter Really is the Best Medicine: Discovery News


So laugh on kiddos!
Here are a few more vids to get you started

*NAMASTE*
- elle BIONIC

This will make you laugh

10 facts about you!

1. Your reading this right now
2. You’re realizing that it’s a stupid fact
4. You didn’t notice I skipped three
5. Your checking now.
6. Your smiling
7. Your still reading this even though its stupid
9. You didn’t realize I skipped eight
10. You’re checking again and smiling about how you fell for it again
11. Your enjoying this
12. You didn’t realize there’s only supposed to be ten facts
13. Your smiling as your Breathing
14. Now your manually breathing as you blink your eyes.
15 stop thinking of blinking your eyes

reply to post by ltinycdancerg


They must have released Nitrous oxide in that subway wagon


It took me about a minute and I was smiling and laughing a bit...

This one gets me EVERYTIME too
LMAO

I contracted this hilarious disease at 0:57

reply to post by camaro68ss


That's pretty good. Must have been developed by a psychologist or something.

Thanks for the post, its refreshing taking a step back from all the drama in the world and realizing that I am still human.

Well... For me personally I only laugh with others when I know what I am laughing about and believe me when I laugh I laugh hysterically and nearly cry. So that subway train scene, I would of been serious and thought that lady was a complete nutter.

reply to post by causeimalive


So great to hear that friend!
That's EXACTLY what I was hoping for.

I know I've certainly needed some comic relief!

I got the "disease" about 1:40 ish in after the guy walked on past the initial area and almost everyone was cracking up and he was like "WTF?"

The last video in OP is kind of painful to watch most of the time, I only laughed a couple of times (at peoples stupidity)

S & F
So funny! when i finally stop laughing I'll contribute and post a funny video

reply to post by camaro68ss


Ahhhh the old "You are now breathing manually" troll-meme.

check it=>
knowyourmeme.com...

reply to post by ltinycdancerg


OMG im so messed up right now. Im thinking of all those now. awawawawawa

Best post EVER

To this very day, the GhostBusters movies I find unparalleled in FUNNY. Hope ya dont mind these gem nuggets. 'Vinz Clortho' and then a Family Guy moment making fun of the Busters......

reply to post by Saucerwench


Not at all friend!
Bring 'em on

reply to post by ltinycdancerg


Yeah.. you think it's funny, until this:

The laughter epidemic began on January 30, 1962, at a mission-run boarding school for girls in Kashasha. The laughter started with three girls and spread haphazardly throughout the school, affecting 95 of the 159 pupils, aged 12–18.[2][3] Symptoms lasted from a few hours to 16 days in those affected. The teaching staff were not affected but reported that students were unable to concentrate on their lessons. The school was forced to close down on March 18, 1962.[4] After the school was closed and the students were sent home, the epidemic spread to Nshamba, a village that was home to several of the girls.[4] In April and May, 217 people had laughing attacks in the village, most of them being school children and young adults.

The Kashasha school was reopened on May 21, only to be closed again at the end of June. In June, the laughing epidemic spread to Ramashenye girls’ middle school, near Bukoba, affecting 48 girls.

Another outbreak occurred in Kanyangereka and two nearby boys schools were closed.[2] The Tanganyika laughter epidemic is sometimes understood as implying that thousands of people were continuously laughing for months. However this may not have been the case. Other reports tell that the epidemic consisted of occasional attacks of laughter among groups of people and the laughter was incapacitating when it struck.[citation needed] Scientists have confirmed that laughter can be contagious.[5] The school from which the epidemic sprang was sued; the children and parents transmitted it to the surrounding area.

Other schools, Kashasha itself, and another village, comprising thousands of people, were all affected to some degree.[4] Six to eighteen months after it started, the phenomenon died off. The following symptoms were reported on an equally massive scale as the reports of the laughter itself: pain, fainting, respiratory problems, rashes, attacks of crying, random screaming.[6] In total 14 schools were shut down and 1000 people were affected. [7]

en.wikipedia.org...

Just to remind you you were on ATS

reply to post by GogoVicMorrow


lmao- too much!!

I vote for giggle-warfare.
SMILEY BOMBS ENGAGE!!!
for a HAPPY HOLOCAUST and the HAPPY WINTER that will ensue

Then we can all do a HAPPY DANCE together around the world!

this thread is nice. i support this thread.

Can't forget this one - it cracks me up everytime I see it.