It's a mystery that's challenged some of science's greatest minds, including Charles Darwin, Galileo, Francis Bacon, and Plato [PDF]. One thing is for sure: It’s not because we find it funny. In fact, ...

NIJMEGEN, Netherlands — Ever try to tickle yourself? Go ahead, stroke your own armpit or foot sole right now. Feel absolutely nothing? That’s because your brain is playing a fascinating trick on you — ...

Inside a Berlin neuroscience lab one day last year, Subject 1 sat on a chair with their arms up and their bare toes pointed down. Hiding behind them, with full access to the soles of their feet, was ...

Tickling can make you laugh and squirm, but why? Here's the science behind knismesis and gargalesis, and why you can't tickle yourself. Avery Hurt is a freelance science journalist who frequently ...

Tickling may seem like child's play, but scientists are beginning to see it as something much deeper—a complex puzzle tied to human touch, laughter, and brain development. The sensation of being ...

A surprise tickle attack, especially in sensitive areas like the armpits, torso, or soles of the feet, can send most people into uncontrollable laughter as they squirm away, while others might stay ...

Whether it's your armpits, ribs or soles of your feet, the experience of ticklishness is common to almost every person on Earth. Research is yet to deliver a satisfying answer as to what causes this ...