# tickling yourself

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 15, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406 "2002-03-15T03:28:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![eyedea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ed655f/32.png) [@eyedea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eyedea)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406/1 "2002-03-15T03:28:20Z")

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How come you can tickle someone in their “ticklish spots” but doing the same in yours doesnt affect you whatsoever?

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**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406/2 "2002-03-15T04:43:28Z")

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> **[Why do people have red eyes in flash photographs?](https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question51.htm)**
>
> Why do people have red eyes in some flash photographs? Take a look at the science behind why red eyes happen.

Great site.

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**Author:** ![Nukeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Nukeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nukeman)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406/3 "2002-03-15T08:56:59Z")

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I think it is also meant to be some kind of social interacton as well.

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**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2002, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tickling-yourself/98406/4 "2002-03-15T10:28:46Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by eyedea \*  
> \*\*How come you can tickle someone in their “ticklish spots” but doing the same in yours doesnt affect you whatsoever? \*\*

This is (or rather was) a cutting edge research topic. Charles Darwin wrote a massive tome entitled “_The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals_”, where he briefly covers the mechanisms of tickling in chapter 8 (which is available on-line [here](http://paradigm.soci.brocku.ca/~lward/darwin/darwin_1872_08.html)).  
He claims that

> [@](#):
>
> it seems that the precise point to be touched must not be known;

This has also been taken up by more modern scholars (as shown by **Reeder** s link), and even the Master addresses the issue in [Is it possible for someone to be tickled to death?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_207.html)