I was doing MSYS (Mechanical Systems for you Non-Rose people) in my room not but a few hours ago, when I heard the soft serinade of a TV sitcom coming from Dzwonek’s room. Every so often, the show would be punctuated by laughter. “Boy,” I thought, “must be a funny show!” Oddly, the laughs sounded strangely familiar. Of course the sitcom had a laugh track, a device shrouded in mystery and secrecy. Wanting to discover who laughs, ye-haws, and chortles for the Several shows, I did some research into the matter. That, or I was desperate for a topic to post about, seeing as how I haven’t commented in almost a week.

It seems that most of the laughs in use today found their virgin utterance on the sets of I Love Lucy or The Red Skelton Show. Both shows had live audiences and numerous sight gags, causing frequent laughter with little dialogue. Red Skelton’s show was particularly apt for laugh recording — he would do pantomine skits almost weekly. Think that shows would be better without laugh tracks? Try watcing Cartoon Network’s new versions of classic Flintstones episodes, which lack a laugh track, and compare with the original version: the original is funnier. (Source)