Laugh tracks became a staple of American television comedy in the 1950s, when sound engineer Charles Douglass developed a device to insert recorded audience laughter into sitcoms filmed without a live audience. The technique shaped shows for decades and became shorthand for classic TV humour, even as later comedies dropped it. Online, the sound was revived as a meme tool, where creators use a short burst of sitcom laughter to mock a joke, highlight awkwardness or fake a studio reaction. Its familiarity keeps it instantly understood across edits and platforms.