We all have a funny bone and it has nothing to do with our sense of humour! 

Who doesn’t like to indulge in a good bout of laughter? Be it while reading a comic book or watching a funny animal video on YouTube or simply reacting to a joke cracked by a friend, we all enjoy laughing. After all, it’s the best medicine! Okay, so what exactly tickles your funny bone? We have all heard this idiom, haven’t we? It refers to an imaginary physical organ that caters to a person’s sense of humour. When triggered, it is believed to make a person laugh. But have you ever wondered whether there’s actually a funny bone in all of us? And if yes, where is it located? And more importantly, does it really have to do with a person’s sense of humour? Let us find out! 

The funny fact of funny bones 
There’s a saying that when one hits his or her funny bone, he or she definitely remembers it. Now, whether or not you have ever bumped your funny bone and whether you remember it we don’t know. However, what we do know is that, all of us have it. It refers to the dent in the elbow region and is often susceptible to bumping. In fact, once hit, the area experiences a weird tingling sensation followed by a numb, dull pain that disappears as quickly as it arrives. By now, you can guess what we are referring to, can’t you?  

Now, let’s tell you the funny part about the funny bone. Turns out, this funny bone is not really a bone, it’s a nerve. More specifically, it refers to the ulnar nerve in the inside of your elbow.  

Funny bone: Why it tingles 
For those unaware, the funny bone acts as a messenger to the brain, right from the pinkie and the ring fingers. Not only that, it also controls some of the flexible hand movements.  But wait, that’s not all it does! Its main characteristic is of course a tingling sensation right after it’s hit. Okay, but why does this happen? Maybe because it is the largest unprotected nerve in the human body. Meaning what? That it is not protected by any muscle or bone on the outside, unlike other nerves. Instead, it is located on top of the elbow or humerus bone (the long bone that runs from the elbow to the shoulder) where there’s hardly even any fatty tissue to cover it. This also explains why we end up hurting out funny bone so easily.  

Interestingly, the funny bone also got its unusual name from here. Turns out, the ‘funny’ in the funny bone refers to the funny or weird feeling one experiences when their elbow is knocked. But the good news is, this bump is harmless in the long run. Another theory is that, the funny bone, when hit, in turn hits the humerus bone. And humerus, as you all have realised by now, sounds exactly like ‘humorous,’ although the spellings are different.