Cabinet of Wonders takes an in-depth look at tickling as pain relief, and at the medical benefits it can provide.

At my wedding, one of my groom’s vows was a promise to tickle my feet. This was only half-facetious: foot-tickling, for me, has come to be an expression by my loved one(s) of affection and the provision of relief at the end of a long day, much as monkeys groom each other to express intimacy and the desire to take care of each other.

The poster acknowledges at the end of her article that she didn’t know the history of the sexualization of tickling, especially in the dom/sub community, but the discussion of the mechanics of touch, the interplay between the circulatory and nervous systems is fascinating.