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Show Science of Ticklishness. The average man who squirms when he is prodded under the ribs by some villanously playful acquaintance does not usually stop to philosophize over the phenomenon. He either contents himself with the purely involuntary-twitch involuntary-twitch which it is the p'jfpose of his tormentor to bring about, or he promptly applies the punishment to fit the crime. He no more thinks of stopping stop-ping to consider the why and wherefora than does the child who writhes and wriggles with mingled pleasure and discomfort under a . like affliction. Nevertheless, the matter will have more or less interest to those who are subject to this particular form of annoyance, an-noyance, and to them Dr. Louis Robinson's Robin-son's artiehj in the current numher of the North American Review will make an e special appeal. For the scientifically inclined there will be no surprise in the preliminary statement by Dr. Robinson that every instinct or apetite of the human frame either is or has been at some past stage of Human history necessary to secure the survival or prosperity of the race. His argument is, of course, that, while ticklishness serves no present useful purpose to mankind, a doctrine which will not be disputed by those who have inherited traces of the "appetite," its origin and purpose must be sought in one or another of pur ancestral traits. The obvious inference is that, before man reached the point of his development develop-ment when he learned to defend himself him-self with a rock or a big stick, he used the tactics of the lower animals. The analogy of the man-like apes is appealed to in support of this inference. infer-ence. Dr. Robinson contending that the fact that "no one can get even a smile out of himself much less peals of convulsive laughter by going into solitude and tickling his own ribs is cumulative proof of his position. The sensation is a sort of protective shock, and the training of th'e young in playful play-ful self-defense from 'attack against the neck and flank and ribs brings about that instantaneous and automatic action ac-tion we so much admire in tho lithe and alert animal. When man was able to abandon the old methods of self-defense self-defense he forgot the use of ticklishness, ticklish-ness, its utility was gone, or, as Dr. Robinson expresses it "the end of ticklishness tick-lishness was the beginning of the art." Philadelphia- Ledger. , |