Show Your Dot Doctor to Says The Tile following Is one of 01 a series of articles written by members of the Utah State Medical Association and published In fn cooperation with your local local local lo lo- cal newspaper These articles are ere scheduled to appear every other week throughout the year In an en effort to better acquaint you with problems of 01 health and designed to improve the well-being well of the people of Utah LAUGHTER As far as we have been able to ascertain man is the only member member mem mem- member ber of the animal kingdom who has the gift of laughter Reference Reference Reference Refer Refer- ence to the dictionary for a definition definition definition of this interesting phenomenon phenomenon enon le leaves ves one a little dizzy Says Mr MI Webster r In effect laughter is an emission of shrill or grunting s sou sounds o u n d s indicating mirth amusement or derision Thereafter in his discussion there follows a bewildering collection of references to the Bible Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare Shake Shake- speare and other literary sources which deal effectively with human hu hu- human man traits To return to the idea of mans man's sole ownership of the laugh one might consider laughter in in the lower species The loon the hyena and a queer Australian bird called the Laughing Jackass are arc said to laugh The latter's letters queer name nanie is a double contradiction contradiction contra contra- diction for he doesn't really laugh at all and again how can a bird be a jackass The Hyena of course tours e has nothing to laugh about He lives ort oil others other's left leftovers left overs his legare legs leg s are re mismatched and from season to season he never knows whether r hes he's a he or she's a she Have you ever listened to the laughter of young girls at a dance of ofa a summers summer's night This is the sort of music that makes life lie most worth while This is mirth in its pure form form no no reason reason sary The world Is young everybody every every- body badY loves everybody and the night is beautiful beautiful so so they laugh Indeed what better reasons could there be Doubtless this is the most desirable form of laughter The laugh of amusement is lower in th the scale of of human values than the laugh of mirth It is more likely to be spurious as witness the polite response one club member gives another after listening for the fifteenth time to toa a tawdry limerick There may may even be a slight taint of derision in the amusement laugh This shows in a mild form in the circus circus cir circus cir cir- cus when the clown gets kicked by the mule or the drunk falls into the pig trough The value of laughter is inestimable inestimable ines ines- as one goes along doing the best one can with inevitable ups and downs It stimulates physical functions buoys up the spirits and pushes the aches and pains into the back background round Cultivate Cultivate Cultivate vate laughing at situations not situations situations not not at people All situations good and bad have a humorous side if one looks for it Of course one will inevitably laugh at people because people and situations are closely tied to together together together to- to gether but remember this this' this When you laugh at another mans man's blunder blunder blun blun- der always follow the laugh up with a help helping ng hand Murders have been committed and wars have been waged simply because s so some one o m e o e-o o n e laughed at someone and walked away But with the helping hand you become a friend in need This is isa isa isa a simple gesture but it pays off wonderfully and brings all parties parties parties par par- ties concerned back into the world of mirth and good fellowship p. p |