Yawning is not caused by boredom or tiredness.
Scientists do not know for sure why humans yawn, but the most likely explanation is that we yawn in order to take in more air. Normal breathing patterns only use our lungs’ lower air sacs, called alveoli - they do not even come close to using our lung capacity! That being said, if these alveoli do not receive air regularly they will collapse a bit and stiffen. Therefore, experts believe that our brains trigger a yawn as a way to keep these sacs flexible.
Other aspects of yawning continue to puzzle scientists, though. No one is quite sure why yawning tends to be “contagious,” and it seems to be a symptom of medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Unborn fetuses have also been observed yawning despite the fact that they do not take in oxygen through their lungs. Some male animals, including humans, sometimes yawn in association with penile erection!
Dogs can tell the size of another dog by listening to its growls
In fact, dogs’ growl detection abilities are so good that, in an experiment, they were able to match the sound of another dog’s growl with a PHOTOGRAPH of that dog. This is a cognitive ability so complex that it has only previously been observed in primates.
Dogs also can detect the intent of a growl. For instance, there is a distinct growl that dogs use when they are protecting a bone that they don’t want to share.
To learn more about this exciting experiment and its findings, check out this article.
Another interesting dog fact: Studies suggest that when dogs encounter something unexpected or new they respond by looking to the left.
About 19% of all Nobel Prize recipients have been Jewish, though Jews only make up about 0.2% of the world’s population.
The Jewish people have received more Nobel prizes than any other ethnic minority group. Out of the roughly 700 individuals who have received the prize over 120 of them are Jewish*. This is despite the fact that Jews make up a tiny percentage of the world population. This disproportion makes sense when you consider that Jews are overrepresented in the professional fields from which Nobel laureates are selected (physical and social sciences, and literature).
*The precise count varies by who you ask, as different people have different definitions of “Jewish”.
Scientists do not know for sure why humans yawn, but the most likely explanation is that we yawn in order to take in more air. Normal breathing patterns only use our lungs’ lower air sacs, called alveoli - they do not even come close to using our lung capacity! That being said, if these alveoli do not receive air regularly they will collapse a bit and stiffen. Therefore, experts believe that our brains trigger a yawn as a way to keep these sacs flexible.
Other aspects of yawning continue to puzzle scientists, though. No one is quite sure why yawning tends to be “contagious,” and it seems to be a symptom of medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Unborn fetuses have also been observed yawning despite the fact that they do not take in oxygen through their lungs. Some male animals, including humans, sometimes yawn in association with penile erection!
Dogs can tell the size of another dog by listening to its growls
In fact, dogs’ growl detection abilities are so good that, in an experiment, they were able to match the sound of another dog’s growl with a PHOTOGRAPH of that dog. This is a cognitive ability so complex that it has only previously been observed in primates.
Dogs also can detect the intent of a growl. For instance, there is a distinct growl that dogs use when they are protecting a bone that they don’t want to share.
To learn more about this exciting experiment and its findings, check out this article.
Another interesting dog fact: Studies suggest that when dogs encounter something unexpected or new they respond by looking to the left.
About 19% of all Nobel Prize recipients have been Jewish, though Jews only make up about 0.2% of the world’s population.
The Jewish people have received more Nobel prizes than any other ethnic minority group. Out of the roughly 700 individuals who have received the prize over 120 of them are Jewish*. This is despite the fact that Jews make up a tiny percentage of the world population. This disproportion makes sense when you consider that Jews are overrepresented in the professional fields from which Nobel laureates are selected (physical and social sciences, and literature).
*The precise count varies by who you ask, as different people have different definitions of “Jewish”.
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