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Scientific American Frontiers

Life's Little Questions II (#1105)

Our first question is a perfect example of how little questions sometimes have big answers: Why can't you tickle yourself? The popular explanation holds that tickling is a social interaction, so, by definition you can't do it alone. Alda visits with psychologist Christine Harris, who uses her tickling "machine" to turn that conventional wisdom on its head. A blindfolded Alda inserts his foot into Harris' machine, which gently strokes the sole of his foot. That Alda finds the machine - actually a well-hidden grad student -extremely ticklish shows that people can be tickled even by what they think is an inanimate object. Harris concludes that tickling has little to do with social interaction. If tickling isn't social, why are we ticklish in the first place? Many believe that tickling makes us laugh because it's funny. But even people who hate to be tickled laugh when someone strokes the bottom of their feet. In another experiment, Harris tests the link between tickling and humor. She argues that if tickling and humor are related, hearing funny jokes before being tickled should enhance ticklishness. To see if this is the case, Harris "warms up" half of her volunteers with a funny video and half of them with a nature documentary before subjecting all of them to tickling. -more- While we're on the topic we ask, What is laughter and why do we laugh? Amid a sea of "laugh boxes" in Robert Provine's lab at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Alda learns about the role of laughter in human relationships, how walking on two legs may have influenced our ability to laugh, and how human laughter differs from animal laughter. To Alda's professional dismay, Provine suggests that laughter really has nothing to do with jokes or comedy. Provine's research shows that people laugh as an involuntary reaction to hearing others laugh. That laughing, like crying, is hard to do on command bolsters this assertion. Provine believes that laughter is a primitive social interaction we share with other primates. Human laughter patterns are different from those of chimpanzees, however, and Provine believes it's our upright stance that allows us to produce a variety of sounds, including speech. On a less giddy note, we ask why, in a time of great technological advances, scientists still can't cure the common cold. The standard answer, that there are myriad viruses that can cause cold-like symptoms, is true, but - as Alda discovers - it's not the whole story. Ronald Turner of the Medical University of South Carolina explains why it is so difficult to design clinical trials of so-called anti-cold medications - and why we should be skeptical of over-the-counter remedies. Alda loves spicy food. His predilection for pepper prompted us to ponder the fiery nature of the chile pepper, such a close relative of the benign bell pepper. Dr. Paul Bosland, director of the Chile Pepper Institute in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has the answer. An orange-colored compound called capsaicin sets our mouths on fire. Paradoxically, another side effect of capsaicin might alleviate discomfort for chronic pain sufferers. Capsaicin burns at first, but eventually deadens the pain sensors in the mouth. Anesthesiologist Wendye Robbins wonders if capsaicin could have the same effect elsewhere in the body. Alda visits her lab as she tests out her capsaicin-based analgesic cream on a runner who suffers from crippling foot pain. From foot pain to footprints in the sand. "[Sand] is one of the best substances around," says Sidney Nagel, a professor of Physics at the University of Chicago's Materials Lab. When Nagel and his colleague Heinrich Jaeger look at sand and other types of grains, a whole host of little questions spring to their minds. Why does wet sand rise in a halo around your feet when you walk on the shore? Why do Brazil nuts always rise to the top of a can of mixed nuts? Why do coffee spills leave rings when they dry? Nagel and Jaeger attempt to answer these little questions and explain their big applications to Alda. Why should we care? It's vital that drug manufacturers understand how particles of different chemicals mix when stirred -- just as in that can of mixed nuts. Likewise, the way coffee stains dry might have important applications in manufacturing ultra-fine electronic circuits. But even if there weren't such big answers to their little questions, Nagel and Jaeger think it's still important to ask them. "It gives us the feel and texture of our daily lives, and it's just important to understand," says Nagel.

Education Record Rights: 1 year from each broadcast.

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Program Description: Alan Alda hosts this magazine-style series of science specials, composed of segments organized around a specific theme. The agenda this season includes a look into the future, a trip to South Africa and an examination of the difference in the brains of men and women.

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