Scratching your ankle is found to be most satisfying
There's nothing better than scratching an itch, and new research suggests that we get the most pleasure now from relieving the ankle.
Researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina found that the back is no longer the most satisying place to scratch.
Volunteers were made to itch on the forearm, ankle and back by rubbing them with cowhage, a plant with tiny hairs that irritate the skin.
They were banned from scratching their skin for five minutes, and were asked to record how itchy each spot felt.
Once they were allowed to scratch, they awarded marks out of ten for how pleasurable each area had been.
Professor Francis McGlone, a member of the International Forum for the Study of Itch and one of the researchers, said: "It was interesting that the ankle was the itchiest site and that the most pleasure came from scratching it, because the back has been well-known as a preferred site for scratching."