Radio show explores nature of humor

Radio host Kelsey Collins will plunge into the question of what makes us laugh in her KZSO radio show this weekend.

"Contrary to what Aristotle opined way back when, humans aren't the only creatures that laugh," Collins says. "Baby chimps will laugh if tickled in the right way, too. And, I swear that I've seen my horse snicker, his nostrils waving sweetly back and forth, when I place my hand in just the right place behind his ear... As a good friend shared with me, we do share an experience of pure joy with our animal buddies, and that, alone, can make us smile and laugh."

People have been theorizing about what makes us laugh for centuries - what is considered to be funny to some and abhorrent to others, contemplating humor's dark side, or those stories from our distant past that still make us laugh passionately decades after the event.

Is humor always at someone else's expense? Think of the proverbial stage pratfalls by Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin as they provoked paroxysms of laughter from their audience back in the silent film days. Do you laugh when you watch someone do something silly or what you label as stupid?

Perhaps the varied reasons for human laughter are akin to a giant soup kettle filled with possibilities: release, relief, or as Kierkegaard postulated: "Something funny revolves around derailed expectations."

On next week's Kelsey Collins Show, the host will banter the possibilities around even further, including a few jokes. Tune in on Saturday at 9 a.m. at KZSO, 94.9. A rebroadcast will be available on Sunday morning, same time, or at kelseycollins.podbean.com later Saturday morning. Send along your favorite jokes. She'll share a few on the air.