What a comical species we are. The proof? Laughter. We laugh. At what? Why?

It's good for us, of course. It strengthens the immune system, boosts energy, diminishes pain, relieves stress. So say modern experts. But people don't, generally speaking, laugh for therapy. They laugh because life is funny. What's funny about it? What does "funny" mean?

Japanese history is richer in tears than in laughter — though things did get off to a rollicking start, the ancient chronicles tell us, with uproarious laughter among the gods. Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, sulking in her cave after suffering a gross insult, had to be lured out if the world was not to languish in darkness. So the "Dread Female of Heaven" performed a lewd dance; gods and goddesses exploded in mirth; the Sun Goddess peeked out to see what was happening; the gods seized her, and restored her to her place in the sky.