…explains my constant state of numbed euphoria as a child:

TV Found to Be a Painkiller for Children
WASHINGTON (AP) – Sometimes the numbing effect of TV can be helpful. Especially if you’re a kid being stuck with a needle at the hospital.
Researchers confirmed the distracting power of television – something parents have long known – when they found that children watching cartoons suffered less pain from a hypodermic needle than kids not watching TV.