The funny bone is not a bone, but part of the ulnar nerve located at the back of the elbow. If this area is bumped, it can cause the forearm to tingle or feel temporarily numb.
The name came about, I imagine, because when the back of the elbow is knocked, a sharp pain is felt, followed by an aching numbing feeling, that causes your entire arm to go lame for awhile.
So as children when this happened to us, we would laugh out loud, to stop ourselves from crying, and would often giggle, to relieve the feeling of helplessness that we felt. Much like when you stub your toe, or fall over you laugh, to take away the pain, and you feel silly, due to your lack of composure. So that is propbably why it is called the funny bone, although it is not a bone at all.
The name came about, I imagine, because when the back of the elbow is knocked, a sharp pain is felt, followed by an aching numbing feeling, that causes your entire arm to go lame for awhile.
So as children when this happened to us, we would laugh out loud, to stop ourselves from crying, and would often giggle, to relieve the feeling of helplessness that we felt. Much like when you stub your toe, or fall over you laugh, to take away the pain, and you feel silly, due to your lack of composure. So that is propbably why it is called the funny bone, although it is not a bone at all.
