Some ancient thinkers believed that a person could be defined as “an animal that can laugh.” And I think, to some extent, they were right, because it was not only the ability to walk on two legs and work that separated people from the animal world, helped them survive and go through all the conceivable and unimaginable trials of thousands of years of history, but also the ability to laugh. That is why those who knew how to make people laugh were popular in all centuries and among all peoples. Kings could afford to keep jesters at court, and ordinary people gathered in squares to watch the performances of traveling comedians or buffoons. It is interesting that over time the title of the king of laughter appeared. It was awarded to those who achieved the greatest success in this art. Since the end of the first decade of our century in Russia, the title of King of Laughter, not officially approved anywhere, belonged to Arkady Averchenko.