Tales of the Ticklish: The Brilliance of Howard Stern's Tickle Chair :)

 

Awesome laughing from Instagram, and makes
me wonder why Howard chose the rickety lawn
chair, instead of something sturdier,
for his "Tickle Chair"

     Tickle, tickle, tickle.. Still makes me laugh, giggle, smile, (or any other variation of those) and generally just puts me in an awesome, happy mood whenever I experience it myself, see it happening to others, or hear someone's robust ticklish laughter! I've blogged here before about the fun of tickling bare feet (or being on the receiving end), and those blogposts seem to be the most popular out of any that I've written. Readers love my crazy pedicure art & cool toes stories, but they REALLY seem to love when I write about ticklish feet! Go figure! People love this sh*t!
     Someone else who definitely gets it is the amazing "King of All Media", the great Howard Stern.. For years now, he has had certain visiting celebrities agree to be strapped in his tickle chair (basically, a reclining wooden lawn chair with velcro straps), and answer either general 6th grade trivia questions, OR probing, personal life questions, while getting their bare feet tickled (if they answer incorrectly or refuse to answer the question that was asked). It really is absolutely brilliant from a comedy standpoint, and, honestly, I have been late to work many times over the years, as a guest would be strapped in the chair, loudly laughing on the air, having their feet tickled, and I would be parked in my car, directly outside of work, unable to turn the show off & go in, because I was enjoying it so much, just sitting there laughing in my driver's seat! Having to make that phone call that I was, "Uhhh, stuck in traffic..", while giggling is not easy, I assure you!! I've listened to Howard for about 25 years, heard soooooo many great guests & interviews on that show, but I count his tickle-chair shows amongst my all-time favorites, with tickle chair "victims" that included Belinda Carlisle (from the Go-Go's"),  Access Hollywood's Maria Menunous (who was less ticklish on her feet, but then Howard moved to her ribs for the big laughter WIN),  porn star Jenna Jameson (that was the creepy "Yaqui the Tickler" appearance, but, still, Jenna was utterly howling with laughter at her underarms being tickled),  Stern show co-host Artie Lange, Pamela Anderson, and Carmen Electra. Carmen's appearance was fantastic, with great, hysterical laughing by her, and the fact that she almost broke the chair from badly convulsing while being tickled! 

Natalie Raitano

     But, by far, the best tickle chair episode ever was during the Pamela Anderson appearance, when her co-star from the short-lived TV show, "VIP", Natalie Raitano, took a turn in the chair! If you've ever seen that early 2000's show, about three female Hollywood bodyguards, Natalie's character was the tough one, never smiled on the show, always walked around with an angry, serious face on.. So then, it was a true treat to hear her laughing HYSTERICALLY in the tickle chair, as she had ridiculously ticklish bare feet (kinda' like your favorite blog author, here!), and even better, was being able to watch this hilarity on Howard's E Network TV show, when they broadcast it a few days later! That episode was so funny, it makes me wish that Howard would put a DVD out, with all the tickle-chair appearances from over the years. You could easily fill 60 minutes worth of material! I would buy it in a nanosecond, and watch it whenever I was having a crummy day, or just felt like a general, don't-take-life-too-serious laugh! For me, tickling feet is simply about a love of making people laugh & passion for making them feel better. Tickling feet (and being tickled, in return) is just pure funny, positivity.. And, sometimes, "funny" is all you need to get through the day!  :)

Laugh, Natalie, Laugh!!  LOL!