it's just nerves

that's what rob says when he tickles me. "it's just nerves!"  when he has captured me between his legs and stimulated my ticklish self to a point of either wetting my pants or simultaneously combusting, he says calmly, "it's just nerves."  when i have finally recovered (read: caught my breath and returned to a state of more love than fear) i try to retaliate.  but, of course, rob is not ticklish.

what is it that makes me so ticklish and rob so immune?  was it the years and years of "abuse" from my two older brothers?  was it that from an early age i enjoyed the laughter that accompanies tickling?  was it learned or is it inborn?  these are questions to which i have to know the answers.  if i could learn to like tickling, perhaps i could learn to be immune.

my internet research revealed some interesting results:
-tickling is probably limited to humans and primates, but it is not understood why some people are more ticklish than others.
-tickling is commonly accepted as an integral bonding activity, particularly between parents and children.  when expressed between siblings it is usually used for punishment and intimidation.  between friends and lovers tickling is the fifth and highest grade of social play and illustrates deep intimacy.
-perhaps we are ticklish for the purpose of bonding, perhaps it is an evolutionary adaptation to protect those particular areas of our bodies, or perhaps it has helped us develop combat skills.
-and the reason we can't tickle ourselves is not entirely understood, but it is likely that the cerebellum sends precise information about the position of the tickling target to the somatosensory cortex, voiding the element of surprise, which is required for tickling.

this is what it looks like when my brother tickles me:

notice that my headband is in his hand, i am totally stuck under his arm, and still, i am laughing.  it is an odd thing, tickling.  and i think i will be ticklish for the duration...