Damn.
I KNEW posting this was a bad idea. Really - I'm a totally empathic person with a kid and everything, and one day I might return him to his real parents... I jest, I jest.

In all seriousness, I think the initial laughter was caused by the shock and the sheer surrealism of the situation. Sitting on that bus laughing at something so very wrong and knowing that I might get myself killed. The emotional response was complex.

The subsequent (and rare) giggling is just me re-living the experience mentally and automatically experiencing a diluted repeat of my initial reaction. Honest.
(Happybara The jungle came alive and took him, Mon 26 Jul 2010, 16:18, 1 reply)

I can see why this would happen
Laughing and swearing originate in the same part of the brain. Fear plays a big role as well. The shock might make you giggle and then the horror at yourself and the very real fear you'd be killed would continue the nervous reaction/giggling. This would be especially exacerbated by the helpless feeling of not being able to do anything to ameliorate what was going on.

happybara, I'm pretty sure you didn't think it was funny; your giggling is a nervous reaction just like jumping when hit with a reflex hammer.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Tue 27 Jul 2010, 0:28, closed)