# Velvet chair sensitivity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599 "2008-09-08T13:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f1d935/32.png) [@Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilton_Doiley_Philosopher_King)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/21 "2008-09-11T02:04:27Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I _like_ your Username, \*\*Dilton Doiley,Philosopher King \*\*. Oh? Well I _love_ it! šŸ˜ƒ ps: thanks! šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f1d935/32.png) [@Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilton_Doiley_Philosopher_King)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/22 "2008-09-11T02:06:28Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Question for the OP and those who are similarly ooked out by velvet: What about sticky stuff, like if you have to handle Scotch tape? Nope, no problem with that. In fact, I love the smell of Scotch tape and during particularly bored hours at work, Iā€™ll often give my fingers a new set of scotch tape claws! ---
**Author:** ![4everkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/76d3ee/32.png) [@4everkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4everkid)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/23 "2008-09-11T02:44:26Z")
This thread is fascinating! As a tot, my son used to complain that velvet and other snuggly soft fabrics ā€œtickled his brain.ā€ I thought then it was just him seeking attention as the middle child. Now I realize that perhaps his tiny brain was actually tickled after all. I feel kinda bad now. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/24 "2008-09-11T12:13:35Z")
> [@4everkid](#): > > This thread is fascinating! > > As a tot, my son used to complain that velvet and other snuggly soft fabrics ā€œtickled his brain.ā€ I thought then it was just him seeking attention as the middle child. Now I realize that perhaps his tiny brain was actually tickled after all. I feel kinda bad now. So? Email him, & apologize. Never too late. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/25 "2008-09-11T18:05:39Z")
> [@Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](#): > > Iā€™ll often give my fingers a new set of scotch tape claws! Yep, you belong here all right. Welcome! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/26 "2008-09-11T18:15:43Z")
Such feelings are well known to psychologists, who class them, for some bizarre reason, under phobias, which theyā€™re really not. I have a phobia about spiders, but the scrunchy feeling I get in my head at the touch of velvet against the grain or the sound of a squeaking fibretip is completely different. I donā€™t think science understands these things at all, to be honest. (And for those who have never heard of these reactions, I can assure you theyā€™re quite common.) ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/27 "2008-09-12T02:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=aldiboronti] Such feelings are well known to psychologists, who class them, for some bizarre reason, under phobias, which theyā€™re really not. I have a phobia about spiders, but the scrunchy feeling I get in my head at the touch of velvet against the grain or the sound of a squeaking fibretip is completely different. I donā€™t think science understands these things at all, to be honest. ā€¦ [/QUOTE] Itā€™s amazing, the things you can learn here. Iā€™m really sorry for you guys who have this problem, what a bummer! Itā€™s really hard, when thereā€™s something that gives you a reaction that others donā€™t understand. It sounds to me like some kind of synesthesia. I am only too, _too_ glad I donā€™t have this. I absolutely love silk, velvet, suede, etc. How can I possibly feel a sense of identity with you? I have a problem with some human interaction situations - the kind where somebody asks/says something, and I just donā€™t know what to say. Asymmetric communications - writing, etc., I can handle just about anything, but FTF and real-time? Mama, take me home, please? Yes, of course Iā€™m an introvert. Always have been. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![b1gm1k3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9c0ed/32.png) [@b1gm1k3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/b1gm1k3)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/28 "2008-09-12T14:17:06Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Actually, he talks about wishing the whole world were draped in velvet :eek: WHY would you say such a thing??? yick! ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/29 "2008-09-12T14:38:57Z")
Does anyone who canā€™t stand corderoy or touching fabrics against the grain also get the same reaction to touching (or God forbid, scratching) those multi image flicker cards, that you tilt at different angles to see a picture animate? ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/30 "2008-09-12T15:14:52Z")
Iā€™m sensitive to styrofoam squeaksā€¦they make my blood run cold, physical involuntary whole body shudder, etc. but Iā€™ve never gotten the effect from a tactile except occasionally chewing on something made from cloth. Like mentioned with the gloves and teeth, or nervous habit (when I canā€™t smoke) of chewing on thingsā€¦sometimes itā€™s a bit of string balled up, and once in a blue moon Iā€™ll chomp down on it the wrong way and it will ā€œsqueakā€ against my teeth and it almost sets off a gag reflex (being transmsitted so closely and directly to brain/ears), but never from pure tactile. It doesnā€™t appear to have gone [completely unobserved by scientific community](http://www.svrc.vic.edu.au/tactiledefense.html) though. "They seem to experience tactile sensations in a different way. For example, we might experience touching an item as smooth or soft, to them it can be almost painful. Think of the reaction you have when someone scrapes their fingernails down a black board. " Tactile defensiveness appears to include a wide-range of other symptoms, but perhaps the posters here have varying degrees of manifestation? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/31 "2008-09-12T15:34:53Z")
Actually, I believe the name most psychologists use for this large set of phenomena is The Willies. Really. And I think there is probably a good deal of information out there on the subject, although Iā€™m not in a frame of mind to do all the looking. It is a plenty common sensation, as the flurry of posts attests, however. As I remember, though, despite its being common, itā€™s not very well understood, as the flurry of posts _also_ attests. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f1d935/32.png) [@Dilton\_Doiley\_Philosopher\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dilton_Doiley_Philosopher_King)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/32 "2008-09-12T16:39:23Z")
Soā€¦ despite being the OP, Iā€™m now VERY tempted to buy my girlfriend a velvet sort of top. You know, so I can rub it the wrong way while being rubbed the right wayā€¦ ā€¦owie owie owie oh my! :eek: šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![pantheon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@pantheon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pantheon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/33 "2008-09-12T17:07:38Z")
hehā€¦Part of my reading/quick research lead me back here (love it when that happens): > **[Why is the sound of fingernails scraping a blackboard so annoying?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341726/why-is-the-sound-of-fingernails-scraping-a-blackboard-so-annoying)** Wonder if the cited study is the same BrandonR is trying to remember. I canā€™t find anything about experts calling it the willies, although it appears to be a common laymanā€™s descriptor, along with heebie-jeebies, setting teeth on edge, etc. ---
**Author:** ![sh\_ca\_ca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@sh\_ca\_ca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sh_ca_ca)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/34 "2015-04-30T15:18:54Z")
wow im really late to the partyā€¦but im so glad i found this thread. for years this has plagued me. and people have often mocked me for it. im currently studying a costume degree, and cant use velvet, corduroy, suede or chenille. ive been known to well upā€¦close to crying over velvet. haha i know it sounds insane, but reading other people who have similar reactions to the stuff means i can shove this under their noses screaming SEE ITS A THING!!! cheers šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/35 "2015-04-30T15:53:27Z")
\*\*sh ca ca \*\*, welcome to the dope. Glad you found your validationā€¦ ā€¦even if itā€™s 6 1/2 years later! ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/36 "2015-05-01T04:52:24Z")
Dental gauze in the mouth does it to me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599/37 "2015-05-01T11:55:28Z")
> [@sh\_ca\_ca](#): > > wow im really late to the partyā€¦but im so glad i found this thread. > for years this has plagued me. and people have often mocked me for it. > im currently studying a costume degree, and cant use velvet, corduroy, suede or chenille. > ive been known to well upā€¦close to crying over velvet. haha i know it sounds insane, but reading other people who have similar reactions to the stuff means i can shove this under their noses screaming SEE ITS A THING!!! > > cheers šŸ™‚ Welcome. If youā€™ve got the texture sensitivity thing that bad, maybe you should switch majors to stage lighting or some other similar arty degree that doesnā€™t involve fabrics. FWIW as a child I had the same velvet sensitivity the OP talks about. It was mildly aversive, way short of painful. More like tickling. And somewhere around age 12-ish I stopped noticing it. Iā€™ve had no such sensitivities since. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/velvet-chair-sensitivity/462599.md?page=1)