Does anyone know why yawns are contagious?

1. 66

   Sunshiney31posted 15 years ago

   Me and my girls are sitting around passing our yawns to eachother and we are just curious? I don't want to look it up on the vast explanations the web offers. I want to hear your knowledge!

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      Brenda Durhamposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The power of suggestion is vewwwy forceful.
      
      haha
      
      I really don't know, but this is an interesting topic!

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         IntimatEvolutionposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Aqua, I think you've nailed it though.  It is the power of suggestion.
         
         A yawn indicates the need for more o2.  The subconsciousness suggestion then is that, you or I might be needing more o2 also.  Therefore, we yawn in response.

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            Brenda Durhamposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Wait.  I'm not Aqua.
            
            But I am yawning.
            What's UP with this thread??  haha

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               blondepoetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               Lol me too Brenda am ready for a cat-nap.

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      Mikel G Robertsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Your thread just made me yawn...   contagious even if you just think about someone yawning...
      
      Talk about the power of suggestion...

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         blondepoetposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...yawn..what did you say Mikel.
         Zzzzzzz

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            drej2522posted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Dammit..I did the same damn thing!
            
            Yaaaaaaaaaawn!

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   goldenpathposted 15 years ago

   HISTORY OF THE YAWN
   
   Pure instinct of the species.  Once upon a time a great Neanderthal named Sabertooth Jones saw his child, Little Tadpole, crying from a piece of walrus meat stuck in his tooth.  Jones took him to the Neanderthal Dentist, Dr. Tyranasaurus Humphrey, who told Little Tadpole to sit in his chair which also served as a table for cleaning pre-historic swamp rats.  The doctor could not find the cause of all the pain and, therefore, decided to try a proper diet.  Humphrey, then presented Tadpole with a monstrous ancient chocolate bar.  After that, Humphrey's mouth remained in such position ready for that chocolate.  The family, too, were introduced with the chocolate bar and were equally enthused at it's wonderful taste.  It also served to tune their killer insticts when on the hunt for indigenous amphibian whales.  So the family started the mutation of mankind's great trek into yawning, the secret gene that has it's beginnings into the great delight in chocolate.  The End! 

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3. 59

   SeenButNotHeardposted 15 years ago

   It's a psychological thing, I think, but I like goldenpath's story better

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   Onusonusposted 15 years ago

   It's a medical fact that when you suck in an overextended ammount of air, it creates a vacuum in the room causing the normal atmospheric pressure to be reduced, therefore upsetting the natural balance of the nearest victim's diaphram. Thus causing the need for more oxygen to fill the space that the body is used to.
   Further, if enough people yawned at the same time in a small enough space, everyones internal organs would spew out of their mouths and they would all die.
   Can I get the nurse to confirm this?

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   blatvaposted 15 years ago

   Power of Empathy, is more like it.  I've always thought it was an empathetic response...

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   ralwusposted 15 years ago

   I have discovered it is nothing more than spooks jumping from one person to the other looking for a place to hatch another spook.

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   mikelongposted 15 years ago

   I got my cat to yawn....

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      ralwusposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      funny that. it is a threat display to them. LOL

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8. 61

   mikelongposted 15 years ago

   He knows I pose no threat...his yawns (now I'm yawning) have spawned yawns of my own as well..

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