Where does nougat come from? How does a word become a curse word? Why do snooze buttons give you nine minutes of extra sleep? These are a few questions from mental_floss which is part of their 25 Most Important Questions in the History of the Universe article. They try to answer over two dozen burning questions that range from the origin of the “You’ve Got Mail” voice all the way to the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.
Have you ever wondered why it’s impossible to tickle yourself?
Don’t lie — we know you’ve tried it before. Apparently since everything in your body is connected properly (and we assume it is) your brain can literally desensitize you before feeling the tickle. It knows exactly where it’s going to happen and how fast. This comes from an evolutionary mechanism that was used to alert cavemen about bugs. If our nerves could talk, it would probably would have said something like: “Hey, there’s a beetle crawling on your back! Now start laughing!”
Of course, we have evolved — and thankfully there are now tickle bots available to get the job done.
How about the number of licks it takes to wittle down a Tootsie Pop? One study (done by Junior High kids) placed the average at about 144. But institutions of higher learning have conducted a similar test by using a “licking machine” and discovered it took well over 300. Nobody knows for sure, though science will try. Chalk this clever conundrum up to smart advertising — even though the question was poised by an animated owl from the 70’s.
Hungry for more knowledge? Read on to get the rest.
Tags: Tootsie pop, mysteries, mental floss, important questions, tickle, tickling
