# Ticklish

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticklish/50755>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 18, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticklish/50755 "2001-01-18T21:08:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Delila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Delila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delila)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticklish/50755/1 "2001-01-18T21:08:32Z")

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There is nothing more fun that to tickle a baby and watch her squeal with delight. If you are her mother or someone she knows, she will giggle with abandon. However , if you are a stranger, she might just as easily burst into tears even though the sensations to her body will essentially be the same. (so I guess there is some psychologial reasoning behind tickling too)

Tickling is believed to be caused by an exciting of fine nerve endings beneath the suface of the skin. But what if you are not ticklish (like me) Am I lacking these nerves? I was ticklish when I was a child. What happened? I always heard the pleasure associated with tickling increases with age. Is this a common thing…not to be ticklish?

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**Author:** ![Davidbw1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7993a0/32.png) [@Davidbw1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Davidbw1)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticklish/50755/2 "2001-01-18T23:34:37Z")

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Although i’m not sure what causes ticklishness, I do know one thing, it is ok to enjoy tickling babies, but quite another when people start tickling 16 year old guys (that’s me) to the point where they start spazing out on the ground in tears (of laughter)

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**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticklish/50755/3 "2001-01-19T00:16:01Z")

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**Cecil Adams** on [ticklishness](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_207.html).

Ticklishosity? Ticklishivissitude? Whatever.