2006-10-30 04:30:45 · 9 answers · asked by wingless angel 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Have you ever hit the inside of your elbow in just the right spot and felt a tingling or prickly kind of dull pain? That's your funny bone! It doesn't really hurt as much as it feels weird. The "funny bone" got its nickname because of that funny feeling you get after you hit it.
But your funny bone isn't actually a bone at all. Running down the inside part of your elbow is a nerve called the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve controls feeling in your fourth and fifth fingers. It's also one of the nerves that controls the movement of your wrist.
You get that funny feeling when the ulnar nerve is bumped against the humerus (say: hyoo-muh-rus), the long bone that starts at your elbow and goes up to your shoulder. Tapping your funny bone doesn't do any damage to your elbow, arm, or ulnar nerve. But it sure feels strange!
People sometimes mention the funny bone when they talk about their sense of humor. Maybe you've heard someone say "that really tickled my funny bone." We'll leave you with a joke and hope that it tickles yours:
What's a bone in your body that you can never break? Your funny bone!
2006-10-30 04:45:43 · answer #1 · answered by princessluvv 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's near a bone called the humerus...you also feel a mild pain and tingling when you hit your "funny bone".
2006-10-30 04:36:31 · answer #2 · answered by paisak79 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's supposed to tickle and be "funny" when you hit that bone, rather than hurting. I haven't had any luck in that category though; it's still not funny for me when I hit it, it still hurts. :(
2006-10-30 04:38:52 · answer #3 · answered by jennnnn 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it feels funny (peculiar, not ha-ha) when you hit it. It's actually where the nerve crosses the bone at the elbow.
2006-10-30 04:38:30 · answer #4 · answered by loon_mallet_wielder 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"The funny bone is not humerus". Ulnar nerve runs in that area (elbow) and when hit produces a sensation similar to pins and needles.
2006-10-30 04:34:26 · answer #5 · answered by tranquil 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
watch someone when thwy hear something really funny... they will hold their ribs or their arm and their face expression wrinkles up... almost identical reaction when you hit your funny bobe... except the person experiences pain instead of laughter. joy and pain are very similar in the way they relate to brain functio n i reckon
2016-03-15 08:28:49 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
cause if you hurt it you start to laugh...or people made the funny bone up they probably didn't though well lata
2006-10-30 04:42:05 · answer #7 · answered by afj4444 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe because when you hit it, you grab it and seem to hunch over in pain, like when some people laugh, they hunch over and grab their stomach to laugh. maybe this is why, but i'm really not sure..
2006-10-30 04:36:35 · answer #8 · answered by â?¥sarah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because if you bang it on something unexpectedly it feels really weird - almost tickly.
2006-10-30 04:42:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's because when u bang it u usually laugh altho it hurts..and everyone laughs at u at the same time.
2006-10-30 04:38:20 · answer #10 · answered by Aaron 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋