In Germany, we have ways of making
you laugh
By Louise Potterton in Wiesbaden
GERMANS are being persuaded to acquire a sense of humour with the
establishment of a nationwide network of "laughter clubs".
In an effort to rid the nation of its dour, humourless image, they are being
encouraged to meet once a week to practise laughter exercises and tell jokes.
The objective is to train them to erupt into a hearty laugh at the merest whiff of
a jest.
Research conducted at Berkeley University, California, has shown that
Germans laugh only for an average of six minutes a day; Britons laugh for 15
minutes, while the French, well-known for their joie de vivre, laugh for a
hearty 18 minutes.
Michael Berger, the founder of the laughter clubs, said: "Germans have no
sense of humour. The German is a very serious person, and he likes to moan
a lot." When Mr Berger set up the first club he pointed to scientific studies
done by the European laughter league leaders, the Italians, who spend 19
minutes a day enjoying a good laugh.
He said: "Germans don't laugh enough because they simply don't have enough
time. They always think that 'time is money' and everything has become so
fast. Because of this Germans have lost the art of laughter." He also said that
in the Fifties they laughed three times more than they do today.
Since the first club opened last December in Wiesbaden the laughter sessions
have become more and more popular. There are now 22 clubs and 350
members learning how to chortle, chuckle and split their sides. The
Wiesbaden club, which meets in a disused church, has 35 members, ranging
in age from 10 to 80.
Mr Berger said the clubs' laughter techniques are not based on the traditional
methods of using aides such as silly noses and corny joke routines. Instead,
members spend 20 minutes following 11 step-by-step well ordered
regulations. At the beginning of the sessions the participants form a circle, clap
their hands and chant "Ho-ho-ha-ha-ha" as loudly as they can. Later, laughter
students are taught to pounce on each other like lions.
Mr Berger, who always wears a bell on his shoe (just for laughs), explained:
"At first the laughter is of course restrained, but when the participants allow
the laughter to take over they become more and more relaxed. We need to
know how to take full advantage of this free and easy facility to laugh.
Everyone has a sense of humour when they are born. One of the first things a
baby does is smile at its mother. But this has been lost and we need to learn it
again."
Manfred Leitner, 55, a member of the Regensburg club, said he enjoyed the
"lion laugh" in particular, which he demonstrated by opening his mouth wide,
sticking his tongue out and raising his hands to imitate a lion's paws - followed
shortly afterwards by a hearty laugh.
He said: "I think the lion laugh looks so funny that I have to laugh so much and
can no longer speak. Of course, it is strange to meet complete strangers in
order to laugh with them."
Mr Leitner has scientific evidence on his side when he claims that laughter is
good for you. Michael Titze, a psychologist, said: "Laughing strengthens the
immune defence system and the heart, and it improves the breathing. Laughter
peps you up, so even depressed people feel better."
And it is often said that laughter is infectious. At the first meeting of the club in
Preunschen bei Amorbach firemen meeting nearby came along, looked in at
he windows, and joined in with the gales of laughter. "We had a whale of a
time," said one member.
telegraph.co.uk
|
