Visitors Laugh Away Troubles at the HaHaHouse Museum
2025-02-15
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1A new museum of laughter in Croatia is offering to help people deal with the negativity of modern life.
2Visitors to the HaHaHouse in the Croatian capital Zagreb walk into a little cloud of white smoke when they step inside.
3Its purpose is to blow away their worries before they climb into a "giant washing machine".
4Then they move down a twisting slide into a space filled with little white balls where their trip to a happier place starts.
5Forty-three-year-old Andrea Golubic is the museum's creator.
6Golubic said she got the idea during the COVID-19 pandemic.
7At that time, many people were feeling down, depressed and alone: "I realized that I had a mission -- to heal people with laughter."
8The idea "came straight from the heart", Golubic told the French News Agency (AFP).
9She had ideas for many of the museum elements in one day: "that's how the HaHaHouse began."
10Golubic said a picture of her when she was seven-year-old inspired her.
11"I was constantly joking as a kid," she added.
12Visitors press a button to be "disinfected from negativity" as soon as they step inside the museum, which has eight interactive zones, or areas.
13One has rubber chickens singing cheerfully.
14They sing songs like ABBA's "Dancing Queen."
15There is a karaoke room with distorted voices and a "Sumo Arena" for wrestling in puffed up clothes.
16There is also some serious history of humor from ancient to modern times told through theatre, film or the internet.
17The museum also explains different kinds of humor.
18These include word play, slapstick, dark humor and satire.
19Golubic said the HaHaHouse is popular with everyone from small children to older people.
20Adults say it is a good excuse to act like a child.
21"All those who still feel a bit of childish joy and embrace their inner child, will recharge themselves," she said.
22Retiree Bruno Dadic told AFP he was pleased by his visit "as there is never enough humor in life.
23"Laughter is a medicine for the soul," he said.
24Aleksandar Suka celebrated his fifth birthday with a visit.
25Visiting with his mother, the little boy said he liked lying on the "Bed of Nails" since they tickled him.
26Singer Zorica Bucic, from the coastal town of Split, said the museum was just right for our times.
27"Entering here is like entering childhood, being relieved of all problems," she said.
28Bucic added that if you could come to museum often, you would not need to visit a psychologist.
29Psychologist Petar Kraljevic told AFP that laughter is a kind of weapon which gives people strength to face their problems.
30He said that if doctors could advise their patients to have "three hours of laughter" a day, people would feel much better.
31I'm John Russell.
1A new museum of laughter in Croatia is offering to help people deal with the negativity of modern life. 2Visitors to the HaHaHouse in the Croatian capital Zagreb walk into a little cloud of white smoke when they step inside. Its purpose is to blow away their worries before they climb into a "giant washing machine". 3Then they move down a twisting slide into a space filled with little white balls where their trip to a happier place starts. 4Forty-three-year-old Andrea Golubic is the museum's creator. Golubic said she got the idea during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, many people were feeling down, depressed and alone: "I realized that I had a mission -- to heal people with laughter." 5The idea "came straight from the heart", Golubic told the French News Agency (AFP). She had ideas for many of the museum elements in one day: "that's how the HaHaHouse began." 6Golubic said a picture of her when she was seven-year-old inspired her. "I was constantly joking as a kid," she added. 7Visitors press a button to be "disinfected from negativity" as soon as they step inside the museum, which has eight interactive zones, or areas. 8One has rubber chickens singing cheerfully. They sing songs like ABBA's "Dancing Queen." There is a karaoke room with distorted voices and a "Sumo Arena" for wrestling in puffed up clothes. 9There is also some serious history of humor from ancient to modern times told through theatre, film or the internet. 10The museum also explains different kinds of humor. These include word play, slapstick, dark humor and satire. 11Inner child 12Golubic said the HaHaHouse is popular with everyone from small children to older people. Adults say it is a good excuse to act like a child. 13"All those who still feel a bit of childish joy and embrace their inner child, will recharge themselves," she said. 14Retiree Bruno Dadic told AFP he was pleased by his visit "as there is never enough humor in life. 15"Laughter is a medicine for the soul," he said. 16Aleksandar Suka celebrated his fifth birthday with a visit. Visiting with his mother, the little boy said he liked lying on the "Bed of Nails" since they tickled him. 17Singer Zorica Bucic, from the coastal town of Split, said the museum was just right for our times. 18"Entering here is like entering childhood, being relieved of all problems," she said. Bucic added that if you could come to museum often, you would not need to visit a psychologist. 19Psychologist Petar Kraljevic told AFP that laughter is a kind of weapon which gives people strength to face their problems. He said that if doctors could advise their patients to have "three hours of laughter" a day, people would feel much better. 20I'm John Russell. 21Lajla Veselica reported this story for Agence-France Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 22____________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24museum -n. a building that holds many exhibits showing things related to a subject such as history, art or any other subject people are interested in 25negativity - n. an attitude in which someone considers only the bad qualities of someone or something 26twist - v. to curve or change direction suddenly 27inspire - v. to make (someone) want to do something; to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create 28interactive - adj. designed to respond to the actions or commands of a user 29karaoke -n. a pastime in which people sing along with music of popular songs 30slapstick - n. comedy that involves physical action (such as falling down or hitting people 31satire - n. a way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, or bad; humor that shows the weaknesses or bad qualities of a person, government, society, etc. 32embrace - v. to accept (something or someone) readily or gladly 33recharge - v. to rest and relax in order to regain your energy and strength 34tickle - v. to make (someone) laugh by lightly touching a very sensitive part of the body with fingers, a feather, or the like 35psychologist -n. a health specialist who is not usually a doctor but aims to treat people with mental or behavioral problems 36What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.