Death from laughter

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Chrysippus allegedly died of laughter after witnessing a donkey eating his figs. Chrysippus of Soli.jpg
Chrysippus allegedly died of laughter after witnessing a donkey eating his figs.
Der Tod des Dichters Pietro Aretino (The Death of the Poet Pietro Aretino) by Anselm Feuerbach La muerte de Pietro Aretino, por Anselm Feuerbach.jpg
Der Tod des Dichters Pietro Aretino (The Death of the Poet Pietro Aretino ) by Anselm Feuerbach

Death from laughter is a rare form of death, usually resulting from either cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, that has itself been caused by a fit of laughter. Though uncommon, death by laughter has been recorded from the times of ancient Greece to modern times.

Contents

Usually, the phrase "dying from laughter" is used as a hyperbole.

Pathophysiology

Laughter is normally harmless. Typically, laughter is controlled by two systems in the brain: an involuntary system that involves the amygdala and a voluntary system that involves the premotor opercular areas. [2] However, death may result from several pathologies that deviate from benign laughter. Infarction of the pons and the medulla oblongata in the brain may cause the pseudobulbar affect. [3] Asphyxiation caused by laughter leads the body to shut down from the lack of oxygen.

Laughter can cause atonia and collapse ("gelastic syncope"), [4] [5] [6] [7] which in turn can cause trauma (see also: laughter-induced syncope, cataplexy, and Bezold–Jarisch reflex). Gelastic seizures can be due to focal lesions to the hypothalamus. [8] Depending upon the size of the lesion, the emotional lability may be a sign of an acute condition, and not itself the cause of the fatality. Gelastic syncope has also been associated with the cerebellum. [9]

Notable cases

In fiction

See also

References

  1. Inwood, Brad; Gerson, Lloyd P. (2008-09-11). The Stoics Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia. Hackett Publishing. ISBN   978-1-60384-376-8.
  2. Wild, Frank (Oct 2003). "Neural correlates of laughter and humour". Brain. 126 (10): 2121–38. doi:10.1093/brain/awg226. PMID   12902310.
  3. Gondim FA, Parks BJ, Cruz-Flores S (December 2001). "'Fou rire prodromique' as the presentation of pontine ischaemia secondary to vertebrobasilar stenosis". J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 71 (6): 802–804. doi:10.1136/jnnp.71.6.802. PMC   1737630 . PMID   11723208.
  4. Reiss AL, Hoeft F, Tenforde AS, Chen W, Mobbs D, Mignot EJ (2008). Greene E (ed.). "Anomalous hypothalamic responses to humor in cataplexy". PLOS ONE. 3 (5): e2225. Bibcode:2008PLoSO...3.2225R. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002225 . PMC   2377337 . PMID   18493621.
  5. Nishida K, Hirota SK, Tokeshi J (2008). "Laugh syncope as a rare sub-type of the situational syncopes: a case report". J Med Case Rep. 2 (1) 197. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-2-197 . PMC   2440757 . PMID   18538031.
  6. Totah AR, Benbadis SR (January 2002). "Gelastic syncope mistaken for cataplexy". Sleep Med. 3 (1): 77–78. doi:10.1016/S1389-9457(01)00113-7. PMID   14592259.
  7. Lo R, Cohen TJ (November 2007). "Laughter-induced syncope: no laughing matter". Am. J. Med. 120 (11): e5. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2006.07.019 . PMID   17976409.
  8. Cheung CS, Parrent AG, Burneo JG (December 2007). "Gelastic seizures: not always hypothalamic hamartoma" . Epileptic Disord. 9 (4): 453–458. doi:10.1684/epd.2007.0139. PMID   18077234.
  9. Famularo G, Corsi FM, Minisola G, De Simone C, Nicotra GC (August 2007). "Cerebellar tumour presenting with pathological laughter and gelastic syncope". Eur. J. Neurol. 14 (8): 940–943. doi:10.1111/j.1468-1331.2007.01784.x. PMID   17662020. S2CID   10940256.
  10. Bark, Julianna (2007–2008). "The Spectacular Self: Jean-Etienne Liotard's Self-Portrait Laughing". North Street Review.
  11. Laërtius, Diogenes. Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R. D. Hicks (1964–1965). Cambridge, Massachusetts/London: Harvard University Press/W. Heinemann.
  12. Morris, Paul N. (October 2000). "Patronage and Piety: Montserrat and the Royal House of Medieval Catalonia-Aragon" (PDF). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-03-04.
  13. Waterfield, Gordon, ed. First Footsteps in East Africa, (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) p. 59 footnote.
  14. Brown, Huntington (1968). Rabelais in English Literature. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN   0-7146-2051-3.
  15. The History of Scottish Poetry. Edmonston & Douglas. 1861. p.  539, footnote 4.
  16. "Laughter causes death". The Argus. October 18, 1920.
  17. "Died of Laughter". The Register. Adelaide. October 18, 1920.
  18. "Death Follows Laughter". Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative. October 21, 1920.
  19. "Died Laughing". The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. October 22, 1920.
  20. "Morreu o contador de piadas" [Joke teller dies]. Diario de Noticias (in Portuguese). October 30, 1965.[ dead link ]
  21. Kingston Gleaner, Sunday, October 1965, p. 3 (subscription required). "Manila, Oct. 30 - A 24-year-old carpenter died laughing here last night, the police reported. They said the man was telling his friends a joke which was so funny that he could not stop laughing. He laughed until he collapsed. Friends rushed him to a hospital but he was dead." Kingston Gleaner (October 31, 1965)
  22. King, Bart (2004-07-15). The Big Book of Boy Stuff. Gibbs Smith. p. 159. ISBN   978-1-4236-1118-9. More recently, a 24-year-old carpenter in the Philippines was told a joke by a friend. The carpenter thought the joke was so funny, he laughed until he cried, collapsed, and then died.
  23. "The Last Laugh's on Him". Snopes. 2007-01-19. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  24. Ross, Robert (2000). The Complete Goodies. London: B. T. Batsford.
  25. "A Goodies Way to Go – Laughing". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. 29 March 1975.
  26. Staveacre, Tony (1987). Slapstick! The Illustrated Story of Knockabout Comedy. Angus & Robinson.
  27. Singh, Anita (21 Jun 2012). "Man who died laughing at Goodies had Long QT syndrome". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  28. Goad, Jim (17 March 2015). "10 People Who Literally Died From Laughter". Thought Catalog. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  29. King, Darryn (2018-07-12). "'Just a Concoction of Nonsense': The Oral History of A Fish Called Wanda". Vanity Fair Blogs. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  30. Puig, Claudia (May 24, 1989). "Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  31. "Thai man dies laughing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2003-08-22. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  32. "Man laughs to death in sleep". SFGATE. 2003-08-21. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  33. "Thai Man Dies While Laughing in Sleep (NDC)". rec.music.gdead.narkive.com. Retrieved 2024-02-01.