Funny Bone... it just isn't funny!

I was sitting in my seminar the other day twiddling my thumbs, wondering when I could gallop back home for a cup of coffee that I regrettably missed that morning when the person sitting next to me clumsily hit her funny bone. Through her unmistakable look of pain plastered on her face, she cried, 'why is it called you funny bone? It's just not funny!' That put my brain into work mode, wondering why is it called the funny bone. From that moment on, my mind was completely elsewhere, coffee actually skipped a chapter behind this one - for once.

I went and did some research on this as I couldn't rest...or work...until I found out. Apparently...

It has been said that 'funny bone' may be a pun on the medical name of the bone on the upper arm, called the 'humerus'. If coffee hasn't been in your system today, I will go on. As 'humerus' sounds a bit like 'humorous', there is a link with the word 'funny'! Makes a lot of sense I suppose.

Another source has disagreed because the meaning of 'funny' also extends to 'strange' and not just 'humorous', therefore, that strange sensation reflects on the name, 'funny bone'. This also is plausible, but if this was the real explanation, why then wasn't it called the 'strange bone'?

One last source told me that when you hit your funny bone, you must laugh so that the pain and uncomfortable tingle that travels through your arm is more or so washed away because the laughing takes your mind off it. I don't think I can comment on this. Maybe laughing does help take away the pain...for maybe a second... but as for that being the reason why it's called a funny bone, I disagree quite monumentally.

However, opinions are opinions. I personally would go for the first explanation, but obviously others would seem to disagree with me. If there are any more reasons for the label of 'funny bone', I would love to hear them, especially one even more extravagant than the last one I found!