When I was younger, I would laugh so hard from being tickled that I risked wetting myself. Now, as an adult I can mostly control it, although if you catch me off guard I might still instinctively react with a giggle. Admittedly, the instances in which that would occur now would usually involve getting playful in bed with a lover. A realization that helps me relate somewhat better to Ticklish Spots.

I’ve already explained that I don’t always entirely get why some somewhat seemingly mundane activities become a fetish for some. I had never really analyzed in my mind the act of tickling someone, so although I didn’t necessarily think of it has a dumb thing to do as sexual turn-on, I thought of it more as fun, than a sexy act. However, in retrospect there are a number of obvious aspects to it that easily prime it to be prone to becoming fetishistic for some.

First, it is for most of us one of our earliest experiences of intense joy and discomfort all at the same time. Freud always implies that such experiences end up being imprinted on the adult mind, albeit in sexualized manner. Secondly, it is generally something done to us that one only allows, or tolerates, from someone we trust. Generally, a complete stranger doesn’t ever get close enough to tickle you and would get a punch in the mouth if he, or she, even tried for second to do it.

Finally, I thought of something quite unique about giving someone a tickle that creates a special sense of intimacy between two individuals. One absolutely can’t tickle oneself. At least that is to say, not manually so, as I read on the website How Stuff Works, the human body generally ignores stimulation that comes from a source known to itself. As an example, they suggest that we seldom notice our vocal chords vibrating as we talk. Our bodies ignore this sensation.

The purpose of being ticklish is probably to sense when there is something unwanted touching our bods, such as an insect, or even a predator sneaking up on us from behind. Our minds prevent us from reacting when we know to expect being touched, so touching ourselves doesn’t tickle. Nevertheless, scientists have developed a robot device that allows someone to tickle him, or herself.

When a button is pressed, the mechanism doesn’t tickle the user right away, but delays its response by several seconds. Even the briefest of delays, reintroduces the unexpectedness into the stimulation enough so to make someone experience the sensation of being tickled. It’s a good thing that our nervous system’s reflexive feedback mechanism doesn’t affect other forms of self-pleasuring, or I might not have a job.