Here are several things we can be thankful are not contagious:
- drooling
- nosebleeds
- itching
- seizures
- farting
That said, there are several theories for what causes yawns and why they are contagious. It was originally thought that people yawned to get more oxygen, but this appears not to be true.
The most common theory is behavioral. In an article examining contagious yawns, Sr. Steven M. Platek and others state, “Contagious yawning may be associated with empathic aspects of mental state attribution and are negatively affected by increases in schizotypal personality traits much like other self-processing related tasks.”
Huh? I find myself yawning right now.
What they mean is that people are unconsciously imitating others when they yawn. Humans are not the only species that yawn. Yawning is seen in many animals, including cats, fish, and birds, although we don’t know what a yawning fish looks like either.
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"Why are yawns contagious?" was posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 at 11:12 pm.