00:00The human body responds to tickling by laughing like it's the happiest moment of its life,
00:04while simultaneously screaming,
00:06Stop immediately, or I will end you.
00:09Researchers believe that ticklishness might actually be a built-in defense mechanism.
00:14Think about our early ancestors.
00:16You feel something lightly crawling on your skin.
00:18Could be a biting insect, spider, predator's claws.
00:21Our immediate reaction is,
00:24So we swat and squirm.
00:26But when a friend comes up behind you and playfully tickles your ribs,
00:29a strange tug-of-war ensues.
00:31The body goes,
00:33Security breach! We're under attack!
00:35But the brain says,
00:36Relax, it's just Dave.
00:38Those mixed signals result in uncontrollable laughter.
00:42But since there's no way to turn off the physical stress of the encounter,
00:46we wind up pleading,
00:48Stop!
00:48and you can't tickle yourself.
00:50Yeah, your brain sees that coming a mile away and says,
00:54Nice try, buddy.
00:56Always wondered.
00:57Stream it now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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