Origin of Phrases - F
Funny Bone
Human anatomy was largely a mystery in the early days of science. Because skeletons were abundant, bones were the first body parts to be the subject of intense study. Terms were chosen from Latin because it was viewed as the universal language of scholarship. The big bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow became known as the humerus, Latin for "upper arm." There is no record of the person who called the tip of the humerus the funny bone, but it's believed the name came about in some part because of the distinctively unusual (funny?) sensation a person feels when it's struck against a hard surface.