We must believe also that every impression is permanent, as only thus could an individual animal or a man be fitted by his own experience for life's battles. LAUGHTER AND CRYING What is laughter? What is its probable origin, its distribution, and its purpose? Laughter is an involuntary rhythmic contraction of certain respiratory muscles, usually accompanied by certain vocal sounds. It is a motor act of the respiratory apparatus primarily, although if intense it may involve not only the extraordinary muscles of respiration, but most of the muscles of the body. There are many degrees of laughter, from the mere brightening of the eyes, a fleeting smile, tittering andgiggling, to hysteric and convulsive laughter. Under certain circumstances, laughter may be so intense and so long continued that it leads to considerable exhaustion. The formation of tears is sometimes associated with laughter. When integrated with laughter, the nervous system can perform no other function. Crying is closely associated with laughter, and in children especially laughter and crying are readily interchanged. We postulate that laughter and weeping serve a useful purpose. According to Darwin, only man and monkeys laugh (Fig. 26); other animals exhibit certain types of facial expression accompanying various emotions, but laughter in the sense in which that word is commonly used is probably an attribute of the primates only, although it is probable that many animals find substitutes for laughter. The proneness of man to laughter is modified by age, sex, training, mental state, health, and by many other factors. Healthy, happy children are especially prone to laughter, while disease, strong emotions, fatigue, and age diminish laughter. Women laugh more than do men. The healthy, happy maturing young woman perhaps laughs most, especially when she is slightly embarrassed. What causes laughter? Good news, high spirits, tickling, hearing and seeing others laugh; droll stories; flashes of wit; passages of humor; averted injury; threatened breach of the conventions; and numerous other causes might be added. It is obvious that laughter may be produced by diverse influences, many of which are so unlike each other that it would at first sight seem improbable that a single general principle underlies all. Before presenting a hypothesis which harmonizes most of the facts, and which mayoffer an explanation of the origin and purpose of laughter, let us return for a moment to some previous considerations-- that man is essentially a motor being; that all his responses to the physical forces of his environment are motor; {illust. caption = FIG. 26.--LAUGHING CHIMPANZEE. "Mike," the clever chimpanzee in the London Zoo, evidently enjoys a joke as well as any one else. (Photo by Underwood and Underwood, N. Y.)}