Your funny bone is not actually a bone. It's actually a really sensitive nerve. And hitting that nerve isn't funny at all!
The ulnar nerve (scientific name for "funny bone") is a huge nerve that extends from your elbow to your hand. It lies directly under the skin on your arm. Usually nerves like that are protected under muscles. The ulnar nerve isn't protected near the elbow. There's only a thin layer of skin there to shield it from pain.
So why is it the funny bone, if it's clearly not funny at all? One theory is that since the bone that extends from the elbow to the shoulder is called the humerus, the name "funny bone" was used as a bad joke. More likely, though, the "funny" in "funny bone" just means odd. As in, it's really odd that one little nerve can hurt so bad.
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