We all love a good laugh and a person with good humor is always a great friend. 

Everybody knows a person with good humor; charismatic and easy smile resting on their face with the most innocent face as they drop the wittiest, most hilarious line that reduces you into nothing but a giggling fit.

Humor is both a source of entertainment as well as a defense mechanism to cope against stressful or awkward situations and it plays an instrumental role in forming social bonds. 

However some jokes that make someone burst into hysterical peals of laughter might not stir the slightest reaction in another. 

There’s a joke that goes:“Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said:”

“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied: “I see millions and millions of stars.”

Holmes said: “And what do you deduce from that?”

Watson replied: “Well, if there are millions of stars, and even if a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”

And Holmes said: “Watson, you idiot, it means that someone stole our tent.””

Called the funniest joke ever, it’s not hard to see the laughing point.

When the great consulting detective Sherlock Holmes asks his sidekick Dr. Watson his iconic line, the man goes off on a philosophical rant, rambling about theories that scientists are still pursuing.

Only then is the punchline delivered. As it turns out Holmes had never asked for such a long-winded answer, only to point out the obvious. 

The short exchange ends here without telling us what the duo plans to do next, leaving us plenty of space to imagine Watson’s reaction and the chaos that ensued.

As the audience is laughing at the absurdity of the situation, another small detail slips by. How had we not noticed the fact that they were missing the tent as soon as Watson began his lengthy speculation on the order of the universe?

Humor is something that varies from individual to individual, getting different responses from different people.

Even as you’re reading this, your reaction isn’t the same as the person besides you. Perhaps you had scoffed at the idiocy of the joke, pointed it out to a friend laughing at the joke rather than because of the joke. 

Maybe this had completely flown over your head, still puzzling over it and wondering if there’s anything more to the story accidentally left out.

Perhaps, I would hope, it caught you by surprise and managed to make you smile despite yourself which makes your day just a little bit brighter. 

When you laugh, your brain releases a mixture of dopamine which is the “feel good” chemical, serotonin which regulates your mood, and endorphins which are your natural painkillers. This mixture of chemicals is a natural “reward”, a hit that you and your brain want constantly. 

However not all humor can be narrowed down to a mathematical equation or a chemical mixture. Mixed responses at jokes and different styles of humor all proves that what makes us laugh is a complex mixture of the way our minds work as well as the experiences we have growing up shaped by our different cultures.

Some scientists theorize that the main components of making a joke is that something should be either wrong or threatening and essentially harmless such as when someone says something shocking but clearly unserious. 

Others say that the equation of a good joke is a long equation of events with many variables trailing on and on until the answer is finally shown, a perfect number with no rambling decimals or indecipherable cryptic symbols.

A person’s style of humor along with the jokes they make and laugh at reveals a lot about them as a person. 

Jokes also reveal a lot about the audience as they are often tailored to how the comedian perceives their crowd. 

Within this, there are often jokes that fall flat with people or may even down right be insulting to people. 

As someone who immediately resorts to trying to make the situation less serious verbally, there have been many times I have blurted things that, I will realize later, may have made me sound incredibly ignorant or even worse, wounded the person with my thoughtless words.

There are many factors that make jokes and if you mess up, you may reveal more about yourself than you thought you were or hurt someone with your ignorance. 

The most important part of communicating, regardless of whether you’re reiterating information or trying to lighten up the situation, or simply commenting on your surroundings, always keep in mind who you’re talking to.

This should go without saying that you should always respect people and the way they think and what they believe in. 

Ignorance often plays a large role when you find yourself saying things that you will come to regret. Get to know them before you decide to crack what you think might be a harmless joke or learn about the different cultures of the world before you find yourself accidentally insulting them.

Next time you hope to regale others with your brilliant insight and lively wit, make sure that you are aware of why they’re laughing.

Trust me, I’m speaking from experience.