"Ow, My Leg!"

Alex made an amazing observation the other night: Injuries are funnier when the victim shouts out, "Owww, my [body part]!" A scream of pain can be unpleasant, but quickly following it by "My leg!" is inexplicably comical. Not to mention just inexplicable in general. Is it really necessary to scream the afflicted body part? Does crying "My wrist!" legitimatize the injury?

Anyway, I decided to test Alex's theory out by searching YouTube videos to see if people loudly, verbally indicating the area of pain does indeed make things funnier. The following clips are like an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos, but better because they don't feature Bob Saget doing annoying voiceovers.

"Ow, my eye!"


"Ow, my balls!"


"Ow, my belly!"


Though this kid initially neglects to mention where he is hurt, he finally remembers to point out the obvious.


That clip inspired me to formulate a new theory of my own: Maybe people screaming out where they are in pain is an innate survival quality humans have. Suppose you've been shot in the leg and are about to lose consciousness. You want to make damned sure the people coming to your aid know good and well where you have been injured so that you don't wake up with your arm amputated instead.

It's clear the "Ouch, my...!" trend is legitimate since even the media portrays it. The most famous example comes from The Brady Bunch.


But I have to say that I'm partial to this snippet from Yugioh:

"Ah, my finger!"

Of all the clips I searched through, however, this one takes the cake. Listen carefully to what our skateboarding friend exclaims after falling.

"Ah! My wrist! I mean my ankle." This guy knows he's supposed to quickly report the location of his injury and does so before he even correctly registers where he's hurt. Good try, friend.

When you get hurt, scream it loud and proud. The next time you fall on your butt, make sure that everyone knows that it is in fact your butt that aches. Even if blood is visibly pouring from your skull, your friends will appreciate hearing, "Owww, my head!"