|
Dear Mikey:
I've been waiting for a kid to stump me. I've done a lot of research to try to answer your question
and you know what? There are some things that scientists and doctors -- and ace worm reporters --
don't know the answer to. And why critters yawn is one of them! Oh, and by the way, it's not just
humans who yawn. While worms don't happen to yawn, there are all kinds of animals -- from monkeys
to lions -- who do!
Sometimes scientists think that people instinctively yawn because they're sleepy and they need
the extra gulp of oxygen a yawn would provide to wake them up. That may be true, sometimes.... But
that doesn't explain why if you sit in a room with other people and yawn, many of those in the room
will start yawning too!
Some scientists have another idea. They wonder if yawning isn't behavior that you humans
inherited from your early human relatives. Now early humans lived in groups. Maybe contagious
yawning was a way to get everyone on the same schedule. Instead of someone yelling, "Go to sleep,"
maybe the yawning could make everyone get ready for bed!
Look, I'll keep researching. But maybe in a few years you'll be able to figure out this
science mystery!
Signed,
Wendell
|
