It is just a simple selfie video of a Texas mom laughing hysterically at the talking Chewbacca mask she bought herself as a birthday present.
Her name is Candace Payne – the video is of her building up the surprise of what she bought, and insisting it is not for her kids. And then she explodes into laughter when she puts on her new Wookiee mask, hearing it make these ridiculous sounds when the mouth moves, I was in tears laughing, and apparently so was the rest of the world!
That’s why the original video, posted last Thursday, has been viewed on Facebook more than 130 million times.
There’s no exact science to what makes one video go viral online among the millions posted to social media every day. But studies have shown the content that makes people feel good is what is most clicked and most shared. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch below:
Human emotion is contagious. Hearing another person’s laughter triggers the part of the brain that controls smiling, according to scientific research.
Payne also told NPR that people have sent her private messages that they were battling depression or mourning someone’s passing. She said people wrote things like, “I hadn’t laughed since they died and this video made me laugh again.” Laughter is medicine for the soul 🙂
She also appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, taking him to work. Watch the video below!
– BrigetteRose@1063RL
Sources: The Late Late Show with James Corden, Washington Post, YouTube