Why do we itch?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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What is the basic definition of an itch and why does it feel unpleasant?
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Georgie. Find the vocabulary, definitions and a free worksheet on our website bbclearningenglish.com
What everyday things (like a jumper or mosquito bite) can cause an itch?
So Georgie, we're going to talk about something a little different today.
What is the quiz question about the sound of scratching and how can listeners guess the answer?
We're talking about itching. Now, an itch is that unpleasant feeling you get on your skin that you have to scratch with your fingers. What sort of things make you itch?
Well, funny you should ask because I'm actually wearing quite an itchy jumper at the moment and it's making me want to scratch my skin. What about you?
How do scientists explain the purpose of scratching in protecting our skin?
Well, recently I was bitten by a mosquito and, as you know, when you get bitten by a mosquito, it's really itchy. I had to scratch loads and loads. Oh, I hate it when that happens. It was horrible.
Can watching videos of scratching make you feel itchier and start scratching yourself?
In this podcast, we're going to hear from some experts about why we itch and how scratching can be good for us. OK, well, we're going to start with a quiz question, of course, Georgie. It's a bit of a different one today. Dr Henning Holler studies the psychology of itching and he played some scratching sounds to the guests on the BBC World Service programme CrowdScience. Now, the question is, what is being scratched?
What is the correct answer to the scratching‑sound quiz and why is it a beard?
You have three choices. A, an arm. B, B, a beard, or C, some jeans.
Which new vocabulary words (itch, itchy, parasite, spontaneous, catch) are highlighted at the end?
OK, well, let's listen.
Well, that sounded a bit hairy, so I'm going to go with B, a beard.
Well, we'll find out at the end of the programme.
So Neil, I mentioned that my jumper was a bit itchy, but sometimes I feel itchy for no particular reason. So what's going on there?
Well, that's something that the listeners of BBC World Service programme CrowdScience also wondered. They wanted to know the answer to that. The presenter, Anand Jagatia, spoke to itching expert Sonia Stander to find out more. Let's listen.
There's lots of science to unpack here. Sonia, what actually is itchiness?
Yeah, so by scratching the skin, we remove parasites or plants or anything that does not belong onto the skin. And so we start to scratch at the very same area where we itch and remove it. And it can no longer damage the skin and harm ourself.
Anand says there's a lot of science to unpack about itchiness. Unpack here means explain.
Sonia explains that when our skin feels itchy, we scratch it and that helps to get rid of parasites and other harmful things on our skin. Parasites are animals or plants that live on another animal and feed from them.
So, Neil, itching is our skin's way of protecting itself against harmful parasites. And I have to say, all of this talk of itching and scratching is making me feel a bit itchy right now.
Well, that's interesting because Dr Henning Holler wanted to study whether just thinking about itching makes us more likely to feel itchy.
Henning and his team studied what happened when people watched videos of itching and scratching.
Let's listen to him speaking to BBC World Service programme
CrowdScience. And what we found in this study was, yes, these scratching videos indeed made people feel itchier. they also started to scratch themselves more spontaneously. So, the answer is basically yes, you can catch a scratch.
In Henning's study, when people watched videos of scratching, they scratched themselves spontaneously. If you do something spontaneously, you do it without being asked or without thinking.
So, Henning concludes that yes, you can catch a scratch, just like you might catch an illness. Catch in this context means get from someone else.
OK, Georgie, I think it's time for the answer to my quiz question. We had a clip of people scratching and you had to decide what is being scratched.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:08
2
What is the basic definition of an itch and why does it feel unpleasant?
1:08–1:27
3
What everyday things (like a jumper or mosquito bite) can cause an itch?
1:27–1:30
4
What is the quiz question about the sound of scratching and how can listeners guess the answer?
1:30–1:52
5
How do scientists explain the purpose of scratching in protecting our skin?
1:52–2:07
6
Can watching videos of scratching make you feel itchier and start scratching yourself?
2:07–2:39
7
What is the correct answer to the scratching‑sound quiz and why is it a beard?
2:39–2:47
8
Which new vocabulary words (itch, itchy, parasite, spontaneous, catch) are highlighted at the end?
2:47–7:42