Women’s feet are more sensitive near the center of the arch, while men’s are more ticklish around their toes, according to a recent study published in the journal ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction.
The researchers developed a device called TickleFoot to test the effects of tickling the feet of 13 participants (seven women and six men). The device was equipped with small brushes designed to hit different parts of the foot; it was a flexible insole that could be inserted into any shoe and tickle the wearer at will. In the experiment, women scored higher in the center of the arch and men around the toes.
“We embedded our actuators in a flexible jig , demonstrating the potential of a wearable jig for tickling,” the authors write.
Tickle?
Whether it’s making us laugh or making us writhe around in fits of laughter, tickling is something even the most serious people succumb to. Of course, in terms of foot tickling, women are more sensitive than men , according to this study from the University of Auckland. The results revealed that the women gave a mean score of 5.57, while the men gave a mean score of 3.83.
“We first developed an actuator that can create tingling sensations on the bottom of the foot using magnetic brushes. Then, we carried out two studies to identify the most delicate locations on the sole of the foot and the patterns of stimulation that can provoke laughter”, explains Samitha Elvitigala, co-author of the work.
Previous research has already suggested that tickling could be used to relieve stress and depression, and a 2019 study even indicated that it could help slow aging, so the current study is seen as a starting point for looking at behaviors like these.
Reference: Don Samitha Elvitigala, Roger Boldu, Suranga Nanayakkara, Denys JC Matthies. TickleFoot: Design, Development and Evaluation of a Novel Foot-Tickling Mechanism That Can Evoke Laughter. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human InteractionVolume 29Issue 3June 2022 Article No.: 20pp 1–23https://doi.org/10.1145/3490496
