One morning 10 years ago, psychologist Jaak Panksepp walked into his lab and made an unusual proposition to a research assistant: “Come tickle some rats with me!” Panksepp wasn’t just trying to ...

A team of scientists set out to answer the all-important question: why does tickling make us laugh? And they used rats to help them in their quest. (@angelikakade) has the story. A team of scientists ...

There’s not a PR firm in the world that could spin the reputation of the rat. They’re aggressive, they’re destructive and they’re everywhere. The global rat population is estimated to be at least 7 ...

In 1994, researchers noticed that when rats anticipated an opportunity to play, they would let out a series of squeaky chirps. These were high-pitched, measured at 50 kilohertz. The researchers began ...

From bonobos and rats to tickling robots, research is finally cracking the secrets of why we’re ticklish, and what that reveals about our brains ...

A new study is linking brain behavior to silly playtime practices. And they have lab rats laughing out loud to prove it.In the video above, you can hear tiny high-pitched giggles from a rat being ...

How do whales hear music? They listen to orca-stras! I told that joke to a lizard and got crickets. It made me wonder the same thing as Eid Muhammad Afridi, who asked Saturday's Weird Animal Question ...

Why can't you tickle yourself: Just imagine, you are sitting with your friend and suddenly he starts tickling you. You start laughing and running here and there to save yourself, but now tell me, what ...

Tickle Kids: The laughter and cute antics of young children win everyone's hearts. Sometimes, people tickle them to cheer them up or make them laugh. We assume the child is enjoying themselves and ...

When New Zealand-based journalist David Farrier discovered some competitive tickling videos on the internet, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Farrier thought he would make an ...