What is it that really makes us laugh? To find out, New Scientist visited Laughter Lab, an exhibition and social experiment at London’s Cartoon Museum.

Showcasing a wide selection of cartoonists from the museum’s collection, the exhibition explores our reaction to humour, “that thing that happens in your brain the moment before you burst out laughing or you smile”, says museum curator Emma Stirling-Middleton.

In the exhibition, cartoons are presented in pairs and people are asked to record which they prefer. “We thought it would be interesting to find out why people actually like cartoons and identify what makes some cartoons particularly amusing or engaging, and others less so”, says evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, who helped put together the exhibition.

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