Is There a Better Hypothesis?

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Scientists still don't know exactly why we all do it. Andrew says that yawning has to do with the temperature of the brain. Blood further from your brain is cooler, so if you send more blood to your brain, it cools the brain. If this stretch is doing something important for the brain, a bigger brain might need a bigger yawn or a longer yawn.

People yawn when they’re bored, right? So then why do athletes yawn before races? And why do so many animals yawn? … And why does reading this paragraph make you more likely to yawn?

For more, go to http://vox.com/unexplainable

It’s a great place to view show transcripts and read more about the topics on our show.

Also, email us! unexplainable@vox.com

We read every email.

Support Unexplainable by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices