A 72 year old man in the town of Guangling, west of Beijing, China is reported to be the first human being ever to successfully tickle himself, eliciting a laugh response.
Suspicious that it may be a hoax, psychologists from Tsinghua University in Beijing set up a complex testing system to see if the man was laughing because he was actually responding to the tickling or simply because he just thought it would be funny if he tickled himself.
The testing system consisted of electrodes attached to the skin and scalp as well as a polygraph, a blindfold, noise-canceling headphones, a bucket of ice, a diaper, incense and a bushel of corn. The experiment was also witnessed by a clergyman.
The results were inconclusive.
Chinese researchers have yet to determine whether animals can tickle themselves.