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The Very Excellent Reasons We Have a 7-Day Week & How Cats Became Pets

Something You Should Know

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The Week: A History of the Unnatural Rhythms That Made Us Who We Are

No matter how ticklish a person is, it's still almost impossible for anyone to tickle themselves. According to Paul Bayes of the Institute of Neurology at University College in London, it's because the brain is constantly predicting what is about to happen. Our reaction to being tickled is actually a defense mechanism that works as kind of a non-self-detector. When self-touch is expected, you don't feel threatened and the reaction is not activated. So where did it come from and why does it seem to work so well? Here to explain it is David Hinken,. He is a professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley and author of The Week

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