Laughing Clubs Around the World Offer Laughter as Alternative Medicine

It's been often said that laughter is the best medicine, and many studies have validated the theory that real physical and emotional benefits can result when sharing a good laugh.

This month, the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is testing this theory. The Laughing Club at the JCC, one of 2,500 laughing clubs around the world, held a meeting on November 9 featuring Scott Bruce, a comedian from the nearby town of Drums. Bruce, who has been doing comedy for 31 years, went around the room and connected with everyone by asking their name and profession before retirement, then told a joke or a string of jokes.

Sara Mayers, who organizes the Laughing Club, was inspired to do so because of a book she read: A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink. The book makes the case that the future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic "right-brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't. 

Here's a video of comedian Bruce in action at a session of the Laughing Club. Enjoy! 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)