YouTube Video ID: _xSRGigPark
Episode Post Date: April 16, 2026
GMM Episode Number: 3024
Transcript
Can we trick our bodies into not being ticklish? Let's talk about that. Good Mythical Morning. Would you describe yourself as ticklish? Uh, that's not one of the main ways I describe myself. Oh, that's not one of your values. It's not one of my values, but I. Core values. I think I am, I think I would be. You're ticklish, though. Oh, I know. I can't get through a, like a foot massage. I can't get through a massage, and then they turn you over, put you up, put you upright. Mm-hmm. And then, I mean, I just. Cook the yolk. It's just like on the thighs, my feet. Sometimes they'll dip into the chest. I'm like, hehehe. I'm so unprofessional. Massage you like this? Uh, yeah. Sometimes they'll get in there and. Don't do that. In the. Don't massage me like that. I'm just saying. Maybe I am ticklish. Well, according to, boop boop, research, it appears as though there are a few interesting techniques to stop the tickles from getting the best of you. Let's commence the tickle science. As you can see, I can't. Okay, in order to make this as scientific as possible, we are going to establish a control area for each of us. Meaning the place that we are each most ticklish. Okay, so we've got five areas, we've got the head, we've got the neck, we've got the armpits, we've got the ribs, and we've got the feet. And you don't. I've got it all, man. And you don't, and you don't know. You don't know which one I'm gonna go. Oh, okay. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. Let me, here, let me here buddy it. Let me, let me. Okay, uh. Okay, alright. I know which one's worse between those two. It's not wet, is it? Uh, I mean, it's not wet. It's not wet. It's a little warm. And the more you dig the wetter it's going to get. It's, it's, it's, it's a little warm. It's a little warm. I don't know, I think you're just gonna. I think you're just gonna like this. I don't think, I don't think your head's ticklish. I don't know how. It's ticklish. I mean, it's tingly. But not in a way that makes you want to, like, you're not reacting to it. Yeah. I kind of wanna, that's a little ticklish. That's a little ticklish, but. Oh. That's ticklish, but only tickly enough to say that's ticklish. I'm not actually. But not like this, right. Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Okay. I think he's going for the feet. What about, what about. Nothing? I don't feel anything. Nothing? Uh uh. Okay. That's, that's, that is ticklish. Okay. It's not, I just feel a little weird. It's a little weird. Not like, no, like that. So, okay. I think it's easy on you. It's your underarm. It's your underarm. Okay. But the thing is, when my arm comes down, my shoulder wants to go out of socket 'cause I'm hypermobile. Ah. All right. Okay. Blindfold up. Okay. Okay. Here comes the tickle monster. Here comes the tickle monster. He's going, he's going get you. He's gonna get you, he's gonna get you, he's gonna get you right there. He, he's gonna get you. What about that. Oh yeah, yeah. Here comes the tickle monster. Okay. Okay. You may, oh, I, I, I know it's coming, when you tick, when, when you tell me the tickle monster. Here comes the tickle monster. When you tell me that. Here comes the tickle monster. Oh, okay. Okay. Hold on. You're, so. Here comes. Just, just a word of advice, like. Here comes the tickle monster. When the tickle monster just pokes me repeatedly. It, it's not as ticklish, it just. Like the pillsbury dough boy. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Here comes the tickle monster. He's going down, he's gonna get the foot. Okay. I wanna touch the foot. Okay. I want to try this. Okay. It's a workout. Nothing. It's not gonna be the top of the foot. What about this part? Interesting. Huh? Huh, okay. What about that? I mean. What about that? Here comes just tickle monster. The feather just feels a little, hmm. I mean the, the feather feels kind of nice. You have two feathers. No, man. Can you believe it? Wow, you're fast. I know. Wow. Tickle monster can feather everywhere. Yeah, feather's not doing it for me. It seems like this, right here. Just like. Even an elbow. No. Yeah, because I, it is anticipating. Okay. Okay. Okay. Is there, yeah. No, no, no. Nothing there. It's the underarms, man. Underarms from both of us. I think it's the underarms for both of us. Now for the real test. This first technique comes from Dr. Emily Grossman of the Royal Institution, who posits that by placing your hands on the ticklers hands, your brain can better predict the incoming sensations. Which stops the ticklish feeling, supposedly. So Link, you can tickle Rhett first. Yes. Here comes the tickle monster. Are you going to be able to defend yourself? Oh God. Are you gonna, put your arms up. Is the tickle monster gonna be here, I can't. I have to. I have to be able to touch. Relax. I have to touch your hands when they come in. You just reach across though. Uh, 'cause I wanna start with the. Which side are you gonna come in? Start with this. Just start with this, and then you have to react to it. Okay. You know, if you don't know the tickle monster's coming. Okay. And when he shows up. Okay. Then you gotta move into the hands-on-hands technique. Okay, okay. Okay. Here comes the tickle monster. But I do know he's coming because he announces himself every time. Here comes the tickle monster. I mean, he says it from quite a distance, actually. Look at that. Look at that. Look, look. Hey, hey, look at this. And then look at that. Here comes the tickle monster. Mm. He's starting to tickle, you want. Hold on. You wanna touch it? I just wanna, hold on. No, you can't. The tickle monster- be scientific man. I, I'm tickling. Tickle here, though. Hold on, I'm getting there. I'm building up, I'm building up the tension. Okay. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Stop, stop, stop. It's not helping. It is not helping. Not helping. No, it is not helping. Other arm, other arm. It is not helping. I mean, I, I just feel like I'm closer to it. I just feel like I'm. I just feel like I'm. He's so ticklish. Oh, hold, hold, it's helping on the left. It's 'cause I, I don't have good technique with my left hand. Well, use the right hand. Oh man. You are, you are bad. I'm so good with the right hand. What are you doing? It doesn't look any different. Like. Why does it feel so different? What, what's it. What are you doing different? See that, doesn't work. See this? Hold on. Let me see this whole left. See, left. See this? Okay. Yeah. Doesn't really work. It's not, it's not coordinated. And the right, the right. See this one? Okay. Left, go left, go left. Come in. I mean, it's not, it's not nothing. The left handed tickle monster, not quite as good. But it doesn't. It's not quite as good. Here comes the right hand. Oh, whoa, whoa. Yeah. There's something about the, wait. Oh, okay. Hold on. Hold on. Maybe I'm just getting used to it at this point. But, okay, let's go, okay. Let's go back to the basics here. Let's go back to the basics. Well, we just, we gotta switch up. It did not, I'm just gonna, I'm gathering myself. It did not help me in a, what I think is a measurable way. I think, by the time we got to the end, I've been kind of tickled out on this side. Yep. So I, I think that for me, I'm calling, I'm saying this one is not that effective, but let's. Let's switch it up. Let's see if I can withstand, now I want you to be tickle monster. All right. But the, see here, here's the thing. The tickle monster, he's, he tells you too much about what he's doing. The tickle monster. Tickle monster shows up today. The tickle monster is, if he announces his presence, then you can't do anything about it. Okay? You see what? You see what I'm saying? Okay. Alright. I'm a tickle ninja. Alright, so. The tickle monster tells you that he's coming from across the valley. The tickle ninja, you have no idea if he's going to show up. He's so quick. Wait, why you doing both at same time? I didn't do both at the same time. Oh, okay, okay, okay. All right. I just gotta be able to like. Which one you want? I. Which one you want. I want, I want it to be a ferret. Under, under this arm, like it's a ferret tickle. Okay. Okay. Okay. Here we go. Here we go. Get outta here ferret. No, don't rub it. Don't rub it. While you, right. The technique is not to rub. It's just to place your hand on it. Okay. All right, just. Why'd you start petting the ferret? Because, I don't know, I was really. Why did you start petting the ferret? I was just thinking about it as a ferret. Okay. And then it just happened. Left, left hand. Oh my. Ow, ow. My ankles hit together. You know, those things, I'm like a. Why you're hurting yourself so much. Like a CEO's desk, that's like. That's what just happened to my ankles. Okay, uh. I feel like it helped. You feel, see it does feel like it had, it had a marginal impact on you. Um, I do not think it was that effective for me. It's interesting because you're not fighting the person. You're just, it's almost like you're assisting the person. Yeah, what is the real world application of this? Like for like little brothers out there? Yeah. Uh, being tickled. Is it like, okay, next time my big brother comes to tickle me, I'm going to. Pet the ferret. I'm gonna place my hands on his hands. Yes. I don't know. It starts to get weird, here. Try it one more time. Like if you're, you're the big brother. See. Hello big brother. You're not doing anything because I've grabbed your ferret. Okay. Uh, so I think this was effective for you. I think it was too. So we're gonna say hands-on-hands is a Tickle Stopper. This next technique comes from a study done by several German researchers. Great. Who concluded that self tickling co-applied with allo tickling. Results in a suppression of both the physiological and subjective ticklishness response, which basically means that tickling yourself while someone else is doing it will suppress your reaction. What's allo tickling? Is that taking an aloe plant? I had to look at that. Uh, it's like somebody else doing. Okay. Allo touch is like an allocated touch by somebody else. Ah, allocated. So, okay. You are going to tickle yourself while I'm tickling you. You're gonna cross over to your, this is gonna be, it's gonna be tough to react to tickling by saying, you know what, I'm also gonna do that to myself. All right. I'll try it. Do you tickle like a monkey? Do you tickle like a, like, um. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay, wow. Uh, okay. I was, I was doing a much better job of tickling than you. Well, 'cause you. That's what I was laughing at, myself. Your arm was so tight on my hand. I couldn't do any fiddling. You couldn't fiddle it up. Yeah. Yeah, because I couldn't have anything. 'cause it was being crushed. You gotta do more of a digging tickle. Yeah. I need to, so mine don't. Burrowing. Can you self tickle your left armpit with your left hand and leave your right arm up? Yeah. I, I, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You ready? Now don't claps this one down. Just do that. It, I mean. It is helping. It is helping. It's helping, dude. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Look, look at me. Look at me. Look, you, you, you've totally adjusted. Nothing. That's the answer. Wow. Okay. Lemme try. Like, double down on the tickle. You know, when they go low, you go, you go on the other side. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So what you. Here comes the tickle monster. What do you recommend? I recommend that, yeah. Okay. This is the Tickle Crane. Here comes the Tickle Crane. Um. It's not helping. It's not helping. Tickle Crane. Oh, lemme cross something. Let me help you out over there. No, that's not gonna do. Let me help you out. Huh? Huh Huh. Okay, that. Too. Sorry, I. You. Okay. I am impervious. You, you're so ticklish. I am impervious to scientific techniques. Uh, what does that say about me? He cannot be cured from his tickle syndrome. Yeah, I mean. I feel like it, both, I'm very responsive to all of it, but you are not. Yeah. Okay, we're gonna have to keep finding a technique, keep searching for a technique for me. So self tickling for Link is a Tickle Stopper. Moving on to distraction. This technique comes from an ACI Health article that lists different ways you can lessen pain by getting the brain to focus on something entirely different. Sure. Makes sense. So, if distraction can help reduce awareness of pain, can it do the same with tickling? Maybe. We've prepared some big distractions for you, so we're gonna have you start the tickling. And cue the distraction. Oh my God. It's harder than it looks, huh? He said, he's gotten a lot better. Carney's gotten a lot better at the sax, oh. Anything, anything? Woo. You getting tired? I'm getting tired. Am I tickle? Oh, you getting tired too? He's, he's regressing. He's regressing. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Alright. Alright, alright, alright. Alright. Uh. So. I do think it had some impact on me. Okay. I think that, it was, oh, ow, you're on my hair. What? Sorry. So I think that I was experiencing some serious tickling. And then. Yeah. I heard what I thought was an oboe. Yeah, it did sound like an oboe. And then I was like, oh, that's a saxophone, and Carney's playing it. And then I started thinking about, oh, the last time he played the saxophone on this show, it was just a disaster. Yes. And so, because I had to process that, I had something else to focus on and it worked. I think this is the first one that worked for me. And I felt inadequate. I think it's so cute that you guys are ticklish in the same place. Comment. Okay, let's get the tickling going and then we got a brand new distraction. We're gonna cue that right now. Oh, seriously. Don't get the nipples. Hey, you can't pull out, hey. What, what? All right. Uhuh, man. What I, hold on, but what I'm discovering. That did not work. What, what I'm discovering is I, as the, as the tickle ninja moves around your body, he finds new places. And you see, because if he stay in one place, you get, you get immune to it. I mean, tickle ninja upped his game on that one. Yeah, yeah. When I was going, now, I didn't. The clarinet was no, yeah, you weren't trying to get the nipples? I wasn't trying to get the nipples. And here's what I discovered is that. They got hard. You were more ticklish. You were more ticklish under that circumstance than you were before. You think it was the difference between clarinet and saxophone? Yeah. Clarinet just didn't do it. So from a, from a scientific standpoint, being distracted by a saxophone is a tickle stopper. But being distracted by a clarinet is a tickle whopper. You should check out what they're doing over on the Mythical Kitchen Channel. In a recent episode, Chef Josh and the Kitcheneers determine which will make for the best meal, either Dollar Tree or Whole Foods. So go over there and check it out. Our last technique is from Neuro Launch. The article claims that psychology plays just as much of a role in being tickled as physiology. So your emotional state and personality traits have the ability to reduce ticklishness. And I think Link has already adopted a new persona to see how much this works. Okay. Looking forward to seeing that. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. It's me, I'm still the king. I'm Elvis. But as you can tell, I'm Buddhist now. I'm a Buddhist Elvis, I'm the Buddhist Elvis. Okay. And I'm about to achieve Nirvana. I am unticklable. Unticklable. Uhhuh, that's right. So try your best buddy roll. 'cause I am just gonna sit here and put into practice everything that I've learned, everything that Elvis has learned over his, his time. Everybody thought he was dead. Everybody thought I was gone. They thought I died on the toilet. But you know me, I've been down there in the Buddhist Place. I've been in the yurts doing the meditation. I've been doing all types of mastery of my. Wow. Facilities. He seems to be unticklable. I'm unticklable. I mean, he did a, there was a little waver in the voice there for a little bit. That's just 'cause I'm old. But I, you seem to be, uh, unticklable, Mr. Buddhist Elvis. That's right, baby. If you remember I was here, uh, a few years ago. I married you and, and, and Link or whatever that ceremony was. That was me. Ah, I remember that. Oh. Cool, cool. It worked. It worked. It's me. It's me, guys. It worked. Let's switch it up. All right, so Link is back and I believe that Rhett has now adopted a new persona. Let's meet him. My name is Orlocken. I am a modern day Viking, hence the windbreaker. Uh, if I laugh at all, I will bring shame upon my village. Okay? And they will take me out into the town square, where they will stuff me full of dried fish until I slowly suffocate. And then they will leave my body in the town square where it becomes bloated and the little children come and play games with it. It is called hackerbroken. It is a tradition, and I do not want to be subjected to it. I will not bring shame upon my family. I will not let you reach through my windbreaker and make me laugh. I will not laugh. I am not afraid of the tickle monster. Here comes the tickle monster. I am not afraid of the tickle monster. Here comes the two monster. I will not be subject to hackatoken. I will not be subject to hackatoken. I will not bring shame upon my family. For generations. None of the men in my family have ever cracked a smile. And we will not start now for your stupid game. I, I will not be taken. I will that be taken by your stupid little games. Tickle monster's not giving up. Tickle monster sounds like elmo. Tickle monster. Tickle monster. Tickle monster, tickle monster. I am impenetrable. Tickle monsters getting discouraged. I cannot be penetrated. Tickle monster can't penetrate the Viking. Ah. Tickle monster give up. It worked. It, maybe it was the windbreaker. Maybe it's that we're amazing performers. Oh gosh. I also just wanna point out that the only time you two have put your shoes back on is when you've had a persona for this whole episode. Yeah. If I could keep you walking around barefoot, man. Okay. What did we learn today? We learned that adopting a persona is a Tickle Stopper. And I think maybe the most, um, effective one was the last one. Yeah. And now we have this piece of furniture that we can do anything we want with it. What do you wanna do with it? Anything. Everything. Thanks for commenting and sharing this video. You know what time? You know what time it is? What's up guys? I'm Kira from Melbourne, Australia. I've done this drawing of Rhett and Link and it's time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality. That's an awesome drawing. Pretty nice drawing. I love it. I love the time you took to do the drawing. Thank you. You know what we're gonna do? We're gonna donate $1,000 to Earth Justice to aid in their mission to use the courts to protect clean air, clean water, wildlife, and public health, where more than 200 lawyers representing communities free of charge in major environmental cases nationwide. And you can join us in giving at the link below. Click the top link to watch us answer your yes or no questions in Good Mythical More. Get your food fix on the Mythical Kitchen Channel, now. We spent $176 at Whole Foods and this is to make macaroni and cheese. How is anybody surviving right now? Uh, but we spent $42 over here at Dollar Tree to, God, this, this is the first time it's really existentially bummed me out to. To look at the groceries and how much we spent on them.