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Humor's a funny thing: Only humans possess it

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From: Chicago Sun-Times
Date: 19860521
Author:Sydney J. Harris

People who laugh a lot like to imagine that they have a lively sense of humor, but this is not necessarily the case: people laugh at things that others consider vulgar, or ugly, or humiliating, or mean-spirited or cruel.

Literally hundreds of books have been written on the subject of humor, and the authors have ranged from a successful comic writer such as Stephen Leacock to a profound philosopher such as Henri Bergson. But none, to my knowledge, has been able to capture or define its essence. Humor is as elusive a subject to pin down as love, or justice, or happiness.

Only humans truly ...

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