Gargalesthesia – Wacky Word Wednesday

Today’s Wacky Word Wednesday, a weekly celebration of the wackiest and most interesting words from around the world, will explore a feeling that can give you goosebumps and make you laugh, all at the same time.

Gargalesthesia [gar-gal-es-the-sia] –noun The sensation commonly associated with tickling.

Gargalesthesia, a compound of the Greek gargalos, “itching,” and esthesia, is the scientific term for the sensation caused by tickling. Two other related words include knismesis, ‘light, feather-like type of tickling,’ and gargalesis, ‘harder, laughter-inducing tickling.’ Both terms were coined by psychologists G. Stanley Hall and Arthur Allin in 1897.

We often feel gargalesthesis when someone touches our most ticklish areas: the feet, neck, navel, or ribs. But research also suggests that laughter caused by tickling is also a nervous reaction; very ticklish people often start laughing before actually being tickled.

You might not like it, but being tickled isn’t always a bad thing. Scientist Charles Darwin noted that tickling can strengthen relationship, especially between parents and their newborns. Experiencing gargalesthesia can also help you burn more calories.  A study in the International Journal of Obesity shows that 10 to 15 minutes of laughing burns 10 to 40 extra calories a day.

To show how you can use gargalesthesia in a sentence, here are two examples:

• I squirmed in my seat, tried to use my hand to block the baby’s arm, and I can only imagine what my face looked like to Jason and the other people in the Jeep as I tried not to grin in gargalesthesia. (RuBisCo_disco)
• If one specific location on my feet is touched, it triggers gargalesthesia.

Whether tickling sounds like torture or pampering to you, we hope you enjoyed today’s edition of Wacky Word Wednesday. You can also share your best—or worst —tickling experience below!

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