45 vintage photos that will make you laugh

Zoë Miller,Melissa Wells,Mykenna ManieceApr 25, 2024, 23:02 IST

In 1984, a butler serves a meal to a table of dogs in a Knightsbridge, London, restaurant to mark the launch of a new dog food.BIPS/Getty Images

Laughter is a universal language that transcends time.
Thanks to a release of "feel-good chemicals," laughing also offers a variety of health benefits.

Whether it comes from a photo, a joke from a coworker, or even a TikTok, laughter is a universal language that offers a variety of benefits.

Laughter releases powerful "feel-good chemicals" like serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, which promote feelings of cooperation, teamwork, and calmness. As a result, laughter can also be a powerful tool in the workplace

"Teams who laugh and joke together tend to be better able to open up and share challenges with each other — which is particularly important for coping with stress and enhancing creative problem solving," Bruce Daisley, former VP at Twitter EMEA, wrote in his book, "Eat Sleep Work Repeat: 30 Hacks for Bringing Joy to Your Job," which Business Insider excerpted in 2020.

From animals acting like humans to famous people in funny scenarios, these 45 funny vintage photos are sure to boost your and your team's mood.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

A policeman holds up traffic to allow four Egg Chicks to cross the bridge at the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London, circa 1966.Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images

The sky's the limit when it comes to fashion.

Gertrude Shilling, mother of hat designer and milliner David Shilling, with one of her son's characteristically flamboyant hats, circa 1971.Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Getty Images

Hey, what're you looking at? I'm rolling here!

Babe Ruth pretending to roll over Lou Archer in the silent comedy "Babe Comes Home" in 1927.John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

The service at this restaurant is wild.

Comet, an elephant from Chessington Zoo, spends the weekend as a waiter at the Trocadero Restaurant in Piccadilly Circus, London, circa 1938.Fox Photos/Getty Images

Quit horsing around.

A horse smiles, circa 1958.Russell Knight/Getty Images

Round of a-paws for this makeover!

Afghan Hound Miyasht Empress (Impy for short) is getting the full beauty treatment ready for the coming winter show season, October 1971.Day Geoffrey/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

There's nothing like a close shave.

Circa 1960, English comedian Eric Sykes revives the "mass shaving machine."Hulton Archive/Getty Images

It's hard to say what's funnier about this photo — the outfits or the snow.

Circa 1975, two landladies in Skegness, England, wear vintage bathing costumes from 1914.Ian Tyas/Getty Images

She's having a good fur day.

A dog with its fur set in curlers at a hairdressing salon in London, circa 1968.Paul Fievez/BIPS/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make her drink.

Anne Fenton having a drink in the bar of the Hotel Marazion in Cornwall, England, with her grey mare Anita.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

So this is how musicians cool off on a hot day.

Circa 1966, a musician uses his instrument as a sun shade.Keystone/Getty Images

What's black and white and read all over?

Circa 1954, fans at Wimbledon make hats from newspapers to shield their heads from the sun.Fox Photos/Getty Images

When Batman isn't saving Gotham, he's helping these adorable kids cross the street.

Adam West, in character as Batman, circa 1967.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Now that's a mouthful.

The Minsky Carnival Showgirls compete in a 1949 spaghetti-swooshing contest.Keystone/Getty Images

This guy is hogging the spotlight.

Circa 1933, a large pig at a farm in Hertfordshire, England, has a chat with a census taker.Fox Photos/Getty Images

Now that's how you multitask.

British actress Barbara Roscoe cooks while using a hairdryer in her home, circa 1963.John Pratt/Getty Images

This image gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "soap opera."

Circa 1930, tenor Enrico Murzio practices singing while taking a bath.Fox Photos/Getty Images

Row, row, row your boat gently down the street.

American actress Myrna Loy rows a canoe down a flooded street, circa 1925.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Two heads are better than one.

American actor Mel Ferrer covers his wife, screen icon Audrey Hepburn, in his coat, circa 1956.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Even Roman warriors enjoy tea time.

Circa 1956, comedienne and singer Gracie Fields drinks tea with vaudeville entertainer Bud Flanagan.Monty Fresco/Getty Images

It's hard to top the classic antics of Moe, Larry, and Curly, aka the Three Stooges.

Circa 1939, Moe Howard plugs his ears as fellow Stooges Larry Fine and Curly Howard slurp soup loudly.Fox Photos/Getty Images

If there's an elephant in the room, proceed accordion-ly.

An elephant listens to accordion music, circa 1940.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"Key change." "Yes, chef!"

Howard Baker's band of bakers, circa 1936.Fox Photos/Getty Images

LeBron would give these b-ballers a seal of approval.

Two seals play basketball at the San Diego Zoo, circa 1950.Evans/Getty Images

They're just monkee-ing around.

The American pop band the Monkees during a silly photo shoot, circa 1967.Keystone Features/Getty Images

Dinner is served.

Circa 1984, a butler serves a meal to a table of dogs at a restaurant in Knightsbridge, London, to mark the launch of a new dog food.BIPS/Getty Images

You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose ...

Circa 1959, German triplets pick their noses while dressed in traditional outfits.Keystone/Getty Images

He has his geese in a row.

A little boy dressed as a policeman holds up a car to allow a gaggle of geese to cross a country road, circa 1934.Fox Photos/Getty Images

The human water ski must have fallen out of style.

Circa 1973, Barbara Clack skis on human water skis, Joker Osborn and Ken White, champion skiers at Cypress Gardens, Florida.Fox Photos/Getty Images

Hey, who are you looking at?

Circa 1968, a two-year-old spreads her paint liberally during an art class in London for young children.Tim Graham/Getty Images

This dog is composing the next Great Canine Novel.

An Alsatian dog named Petra answers her fan mail on the British kids' show "Blue Peter," circa 1964.John Pratt/Getty Images

This dog is at the height of fashion.

Dog fashion, Saks department store, NY. Best-selling trench coat, 7th June 1971Dog fashion, Saks department store, NY. Best selling trench coat, 7th June 1971

A skeleton enters a pub. The bartender asks, "What'll it be?"

A skeleton sits at a pub table waiting to be served. 26th May 1970.Sunday People/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

This monkey seems to be missing something...

Freddie, a baby chimp, is doing a real job of mixing the Christmas puddings in and out of the mixing bowl; December 1969.Mirrorpix via Getty Images

An elephant puts in his regular order at the pub.

An elephant puts in his regular order at the pub. 1971.Mirrorpix via Getty Images

An elephant attempts to use a phone booth.

An elephant attempts to use a phone booth; 1971Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Any advice on getting a pet pig?

Perky, pictured in the car in which it traveled down to London to perform in a new circus in Charing Cross, London, with its partner pig Pinky. November 1970.Alisdair Macdonald/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Talk about a human keg stand.

Guinness Book of Records titleholder Chris Southcombe can even drink pints standing upside down, March 1971.Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Looks like these bulldogs had to take their daily walk into their own paws.

Two bulldogs out for a walk in 1949.Kirn Vintage Stock/Contributor/Getty Images

Looks like British comedian Richard Hearne could use some help from his teammates.

British comedian and actor Richard Hearne tries to play basketball against Harlem Globetrotters teammates J Walter Kennedy and Murphy Simmons for a charity game in 1963.Evening Standard/Stringer/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Keep your eye on the ball.

Members of the Fleetway House Golfing Society play with a giant golf ball on the putting green in 1928.John Warwick Brooke/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

She's got some serious hang time.

Women at the beach toss their colleague in the air with a blanket in 1932.Daily Herald Archive/Contributor/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty Images

Ouch! I think he missed the punchline.

A young man misses a punching bag in 1910.Kirn Vintage Stock/Contributor/Corbis via Getty Images

Don't spike the hand that feeds you.

A keeper hand feeds a porcupine in 1924.WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

This song is purrfect.

Tibby the cat listens to the radio in the 1920s.Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Contributor/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

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