It is highly unlikely that a surge of laughter will be the first sound that comes from your mouth after hitting your funny bone. The paralyzing, sharp, tingling sensation that spreads throughout your arm happen not because you’re hitting a bone, but because you’re hitting a nerve that connects all the way from your spine, along your arm, and out to your pinky and ring fingers. This, perhaps the most notorious of nerves, is technically called your Ulnar nerve, otherwise known as the funnny bone.  

What makes this Ulnar nerve so vulnerable is that there is no muscle or bone to protect it as it passes across the elbow. Once the nerve is hit, its connection to the brain is temporarily hindered, resulting in those dreaded waves of numbness and tingling.

If for some reason the overwhelming sensation remains for more than a few minutes, this could be sign of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome and you should contact your doctor as soon as possible. Otherwise, as you have probably experienced, the pain is momentary and generally subsides in about five seconds. That said, the funny bone always seems to find itself in a position to be hit by the corner of a desk, a chair, or even a door. 

Next time you get that feeling, you’ll know why.