Laughter is no longer just a laugh, but rather a trait that some work hard at achieving, while others, like myself, are born gifted.

We start out with the snorting crowd, both fictitious and authentic, the hyenas, the machine gun laughers, the mutes, those who exhale all their air as if they were taking the first plunge on the world’s tallest roller coaster, only to end up with the annoying and/or boring laugher. However, no matter what kind of laugher you are, one thing always remains true: laughter is contagious and can occur at the most awkward moments when you least expect something to happen.

We’ve all been there before. It’s just after lunch; you’re walking down the halls to your next class, when all of a sudden it hits you.

This uncomfortable feeling down below instantly triggers your mind to bolt for the nearest restroom before experiencing the embarrassing incident of letting loose in public. As you are in the restroom doing your duty, and trying to be as discrete as possible, along comes someone in the neighboring stall. You become a little nervous, but maintain your composure. All of a sudden, in the death silence of your cubicle, someone does the unthinkable! You guessed it, someone let’s it rip, clearly not worried about their identity or the embarrassment.

Whether you are 20 or 50, this situation will make anyone present want to snicker. There are some that can restrain from being heard, but once others catch wind of the noise, the isolation of the cubicle becomes the hysteria of the bathroom.

After quickly escaping the bathroom to avoid being seen by the “noise-maker,” you hurry off to class eager to tell someone, anyone about the obnoxious episode you just encountered. Unable to fulfill this aspiration, you quietly enter the classroom with a grin on your face and try to settle down before taking the test. Time goes by, and just as you are about to start filling out the last page, the person behind you starts shuffling around, coughing sporadically; and then you hear it, the growling of their stomach. Being that this is a usual occurrence for most people on a daily basis, you assume that it will pass. But after the subtle monotone growl progresses into a mixture of long high pitch squeals with deep groaning explosions in their intestines, you can no longer ignore the cultivating endorphins dispersing throughout your body.

As you begin to take part in the mute laughter, you are easily spotted as you take a huge gasp to come up for air. By this time, your face is beat red, you look like you are going into convulsions, and you notice that you are beginning to rub off on, not only your classmates, but your professor as well. Quickly finishing your test, you bolt outside wiping the tears from your eyes.

It is situations like these that seem to make your day. Although they are awkward and embarrassing moments for the people conducting the acts, some things are just too funny to let slip past you.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if the sound of gas or stomach digestion makes someone laugh, then we can all rest easy knowing we all are capable of being funny at least once in our life.

The sensation of being a contagious laugher is priceless and nothing else can compare to the die-hard laughing attacks you experience by yourself or with your peers.