Janet Paskin | August 2009 issue What’s a laugh worth? You can get your yuks in a comedy club for $20 or less; for a few hours of humor in a movie theater, you’ll pay about $10. A whoopee cushion or a joy buzzer is significantly cheaper; to indulge in more highbrow humor—say, a … [Read more...] about The business of making people laugh
laughter
How laughter meditation can bring you peace and joy
Max Christern | August 2009 issue Laughing is a group activity. "It gives you a feeling of solidarity," Dhyan Sutorius had already explained to me on the phone. That’s why he asked if I was interested in doing a short laughing meditation with the staff during his upcoming visit … [Read more...] about How laughter meditation can bring you peace and joy
What makes the whoopee cushion so funny?
Marco Visscher | August 2009 issue After Trevor Cox, professor of acoustics at the University of Salford in central England, designed the world’s largest whoopee cushion (it’s six feet—two meters—in diameter), he was approached by the British charity Comic Relief to carry out a … [Read more...] about What makes the whoopee cushion so funny?
Does God have a sense of humor?
| August 2009 issue After 10 years as a trial attorney in New York City, Susan Sparks was burned out. "I was so sapped of energy that I couldn’t do anything but quit my job and drop out of my life," recalls Sparks, 46. In 1997, she began on a two-year journey around the world to … [Read more...] about Does God have a sense of humor?
The funny side of faith
Carmel Wrothl | August 2009 issue Mullah Nasrudin is a medieval folk hero claimed by many countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. He’s part court jester, part Socratic philosopher, and the many tales of his sayings and adventures are popular throughout the Middle East … [Read more...] about The funny side of faith