Why does whacking your funny bone feel so dreadful? - Cella Wright episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 3, 2026 · 6 MIN

Why does whacking your funny bone feel so dreadful? - Cella Wright

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Explore the complex anatomy of the elbow, and find out why hitting your funny bone causes such an odd and painful sensation.--It's something we've all experienced: the back of your elbow smacks against a hard surface and the impact sends a sensation so distinctly disquieting shooting down your arm that it takes several moments to regain composure. So, why does hitting this spot on your elbow— commonly known as the funny bone— feel so weird? Cella Wright explains one of the most complicated joints in the body.Lesson by Cella Wright, directed by Anton Bogaty.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-does-hitting-your-funny-bone-feel-so-horrible-cella-wrightDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-does-hitting-your-funny-bone-feel-so-horrible-cella-wright/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://antonbogaty.comMusic: https://www.campstudio.co----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath and Dan Nguyen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explore the complex anatomy of the elbow, and find out why hitting your funny bone causes such an odd and painful sensation.--It's something we've all experienced: the back of your elbow smacks against a hard surface and the impact sends a sensation so distinctly disquieting shooting down your arm that it takes several moments to regain composure. So, why does hitting this spot on your elbow— commonly known as the funny bone— feel so weird? Cella Wright explains one of the most complicated joints in the body.Lesson by Cella Wright, directed by Anton Bogaty.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-does-hitting-your-funny-bone-feel-so-horrible-cella-wrightDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-does-hitting-your-funny-bone-feel-so-horrible-cella-wright/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://antonbogaty.comMusic: https://www.campstudio.co----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matthew Neal, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice, Fernando A. Endo, Helen Lee, pam morgan, sarim haq, Gerardo Castro, Michel-Ange Hortegat, Enes Kirimi, Amaury BISIAUX, ND, Samyogita Hardikar, Vanessa Graulich, Vandana Gunwani, Abdulmohsin Almadi, AJ Lyon, Geoffrey Bultitude, Mi Mi, Thomas Rothert, Brian Elieson, Oge O, Weronika Falkowska, Nevin Spoljaric, Sid Chanpuriya, Anoop Varghese, David Yastremski, Noah Webb, Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath and Dan Nguyen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why does whacking your funny bone feel so dreadful? - Cella Wright

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This episode was published on June 3, 2026.

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Explore the complex anatomy of the elbow, and find out why hitting your funny bone causes such an odd and painful sensation.--It's something we've all experienced: the back of your elbow smacks against a hard surface and the impact sends a sensation...

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