Probably everyone who has had to experience tickling or tickle someone else, wondered: "Is it possible to die from tickling?". And the answer is actually not so simple. Indeed, laughter caused by tickling is far from a manifestation of happiness, fun or pleasure, as many believe. This laughter can easily turn into tears. Tickling the heels, armpits and other parts of the body is a dangerous weapon that can, if not kill, then harm.
Fatal mirth refers to the phenomenon in which someone laughs so hard that they eventually die of suffocation or cardiac arrest. Reminds me of something, doesn't it? At first glance, tickling is fun, but you can die from tickling! The cause of death in this case could just be the aforementioned heart attack or suffocation.
Tickling and torture
Historically, many cultures have used tickling to cause pain. For example, during the ChineseIn the Han Dynasty, tickling was one of the methods of torture. With its help, representatives of the nobility punished the guilty, because it caused enough suffering without leaving any traces. And in ancient Rome, for example, criminals were tied up, the feet were smeared with saline, and then they were allowed to lick by goats. Such tickling of the heels often led to death. Even the Nazis resorted to a similar method, who tortured Jewish prisoners by tickling them with a feather.
However, these days we seem to think that there is nothing wrong with being tickled. We tickle our friends and loved ones, and most importantly, our children. Although, perhaps, each person has a couple of traumatic childhood memories associated with tickling. Scientists have found that the anxiety and panic response we get from, for example, an insect crawling on our leg is identical to the emotions we experience when tickled.
Can you die from being ticklish?
The fact is that such a reaction of the body to external irritation is a protective mechanism necessary, as, for example, was indicated above, to protect against poisonous insects. The body quickly reacts to this unforeseen touch, and our brain begins to panic without much thought. It is also worth noting that the situation in which the act of tickling takes place plays an extremely important role in this case: if you do not want someone to tickle you, then the reaction of the body will be as similar as possible to panic.
How dangerous is laughter
So, can you die from tickling? Answer: yesquite. According to researcher Joost Meerloo, who wrote a monograph on laughter a few years ago, the latter is quite dangerous. Laughter epidemics, one of the types of mass hysteria, have been known to history since the Middle Ages. These episodes are rarely reported in the medical literature these days.
For example, in 1963, about a thousand people in Tanganyika experienced mass laughter that lasted several days. Most laughter victims adapt, but some die as a result of a combination of starvation and exhaustion. The fact is that during laughter a person can neither eat nor sleep. Even if he tries to drink something, the liquid will most likely splash out through his nose.
Of course, laughter while being tickled is a bit different. In addition, we can ask or, in extreme cases, force a person to stop "violence", however, if you do not stop in time, you can easily lose consciousness or, in the worst case, die of a heart attack. That's why you can die from tickling. Yes, laughter does not always prolong life.
Summing up
So, can you die from tickling? Analyzing all that has been said and summarizing this information, we can draw the following conclusion: there is no physical harm for a person directly in tickling. Especially if he's not afraid of her. However, the laughter that touch can cause in some people can be life-threatening. So, as a result of prolonged tickling, a person can lose consciousness. It is also common that prolonged laughtercaused a heart attack or suffocation.
Do not forget that tickling awakens in a person the natural instincts of self-defense, since all those areas of our body that are tickled are actually vital, because these areas of the skin usually contain the main arteries, which, to everything other, are extremely close to the surface of the body. That is why during the “attack” in the form of tickling, our body begins to actively defend itself. In this case, it is important, when trying to "fight off the enemy", not to harm him.
Even during a fun tickling, it is important not to forget about the rules of life safety: do not hit yourself and others, do not fall to the floor and do not break anything for yourself. Be careful and laugh as often as possible without harm to your he alth!
