August 16th - National Tell-a-Joke Day...

Have You Heard This One?

Knock, knock.
Whos there?
Wooden shoe.
Wooden shoe who?
Wooden shoe like to know.

Laughter is part of our universal language. It sounds the same whether you speak English, Korean or Portuguese. And did you know that humans don't even need to learn how to laugh? Were born with that innate ability.

According to howstuffworks.com, the average adult laughs 17 times a day. Now, you can make anyone laugh on any day of the year, but there's actually a specific day for just such an occasion: August 16 is set aside as National Tell-a-Joke Day.

I'm not sure if the day is solely about telling laugh-out-loud-until-your-head-hurts jokes. It might also be about simply having fun. If you think about it, can you really laugh if you're not having fun? Just ask someone to laugh during a serious moment. Say to them, "Laugh right now." They'll discover it's a rather difficult task to perform and that laughter comes much easier when they find something funny.

Laughter can also bring about health benefits. Some physicians believe that laughing might improve both your physical and mental well-being. These health experts feel that learning to laugh at everyday situations can give you the ability to better deal with life's up-and-down events.

So the next time you have a friend who's down in the dumps, or a family member whose day has gone awry cheer them up with some humor. As the saying goes, "Laughter is the best medicine."

Jamie