Humor and laughter are recognized as being separate entities, but ones often and in many ways found together. Scholars note that laughter can erupt without there being humor (for example, as a nervous reaction), and humor can receive nothing in the way of a laugh response. So, what is their relationship with each other? In this chapter, we make the case that, because those engaging in laughter reveal something important about their thoughts and feelings, it makes perfect sense that some might not want to leave its utterance to chance. Thus, we can best understand humor as a purposeful attempt to solicit a feeling of amusement, with laughter being its most definitive outward expression. How does humor work? Quite simply by intentionally highlighting (that is drawing attention to) one’s own or others’ shortcomings, foibles, frailties, or limitations—in a word, vulnerabilities. Do such attempts always result in laughter? No. These are either failed attempts or ones that generate a feeling of amusement below the threshold required to spark a laugh response. A smile, perhaps, but we shall address that topic in another section.