Humour
We all laugh every day, think about it, you might not always notice it. People have different opinions on what is funny, and what isn’t. Without humour the world would be all dark and sober, I could not possibly think of a world without it.
Someone might laugh because of a joke, but someone else might find it offensive, so you have to be careful with what you joke about. You might joke about someone’s accent, but if you’d tell that joke in the region where that accent is used, you might better want to think twice before doing that.
There are people that tell jokes as their job, you might see them on TV sometimes. The jokes they tell can sometimes be very offensive to a certain race or culture, but the people watching still think they’re funny, so they are tolerated.
There is also humour in the media, a joke being pulled on a reporter, for example. Or maybe you know shows like Bananasplit, Ushi en Dushi, or Stom, Stommer, Stomst. The last one usually involves someone doing something really stupid, and possibly hurting him/herself.
Laughter
Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy (laughing on the inside). Strong laughter can sometimes bring an onset of tears or even moderate muscular pain.
Laughter is found among various animals, as well as in humans. Among the human species, it is a part of human behaviour regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing an emotional context to conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group — it signals acceptance and positive interactions with others. Laughter is sometimes seemingly contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others as a positive feedback. This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks in situation comedy television shows.
We need humour, just like we need food and water. Humour can brighten dark days and turn a frown in to a smile!