Hic Hic Hooray: Hiccups Explained

Anonymous Hero writes "Finally after millions of years (and zillions of hiccups) New Scientist gives us an explanation for this most annoying and least obvious of adaptations!"

Comments

What I want to know

[johndou1]

Why do I yawn when I see someone else yawn?

Re:What I want to know

[Bonker]

A doctor once told me that most yawns (not all) were a sign that you had high levels of C02 building up in your bloodstream. (Thus, it happens more often when you're sleepy and not moving around much) Yawning slowly expels most the gas from your lungs and causes you to deeply inhale, hopefully getting more oxygen than carbon dioxide in the mix.

Seeing another person yawn triggers the desire in you to yawn for the very real purpose of getting rid of your excess C02 as well. This may be because we know that if one of us is getting sleepy or deprived of oxygen we all are, or if one of us is in a location that is prone to oxygen depletion-- the bottom of a cave or burrow, for example-- then we need to move to an area that is more open to moving air.

Humans have a lot of responses like this. When one of us gets sick and vomits, anyone else who sees it also feels sick and tries to vomit. The implication being that if one of us has eaten bad, possibly toxic food, the rest of us should try to purge our stomachs before it affects us.

Try this the next time you're at home with your dog or cat. Yawn widely and deeply in front of your pet. Chances are, you can make your pet yawn. This is an old, *old* mechanism.

I know I'm yawning just thinking about it.