Hi there.
I would just like to comment on the “Why do woman laugh hysterically?” question.
It’s funny that you should use that wording.
The root word “hyster” is actually the greek (and scientific) word for uterus. That is why male doctors of the past described an ill woman as “hysterical”.
:eek:
Just something to think about
Hi and welcome to the SDMB! It helps if you include a link to the column in question, so we can all get on the same page, so to speak.
The column is actually Part 2 of What mountain is depicted in the Paramount logo? Why do women laugh hysterically?.
Good to know. I’ll keep it in mind next time.
Regarding question 2, i.e. women laughing hysterically, I think I have to go with response, do women laugh hysterically? Any more than men do? I think first you must prove your assertion before looking for a cause, no? (Which is probably why Jill responded how she did.)
I can’t speak for men, but yes, women do laugh hysterically. Some of my best times have been helpless, uncontrollable giggling with friends for no good reason, until tears roll down our faces, stomachs hurt, gasping for breath, then, just when I thought I’d gotten it under control, someone else starts again, and it’s contagious, like yawning, and everybody goes off again!
Why? I have no idea. But getting the giggles is one of life’s rare pleasures, and one of those few silly, pointless, pleasurable things that we actually take with us from childhood.
As a man, I can say that, yes, I have laughed like that. Granted, most of the times that I did, I was under the influence of cannabis, but still…
As a man, I can attest to having had laughing fits that wouldn’t stop. And not under the influence of any mind-altering substances. Now admittedly there was a start to the laughing fit, some joke or set of jokes to get it rolling, at which point it took on a life of its own.
My point was do women do this more so than men? I’ve never walked across a group of women just bowled over laughing. Haven’t passed any women at bus stops who broke into a fit of unstoppable giggles. No meetings have been interrupted by women suddenly unable to keep a straight face. Anybody got any hard data on frequency of uncontrolled laughter in women vs. men?
That’s because we don’t get the giggles around men. Usually it’s about men… Hey, Jill was right!
I’ve never seen men having group laughing hysterics - in the absence of mind-altering drugs. Never heard of it. Never seen the question empirically addressed, either.
I would hypothesize that women willing to admit to having the giggles, without the influence of mind-altering drugs, outnumber men (willing to admit the same) by 50%.
So what about uncontrollable laughing fits among mixed groups?
Although most of those, admittedly, have been prompted by sleep deprivation, in my experience.
Because it’s funny!
I’ve seen men laugh hysterically in mixed company…get tears in their eyes, fall down, double over, roll into a ball, etc. would not know if they do so when in the company of men (I am mixed company). I dunno, maybe I just tell a better than average knock knock joke.