Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-04-09
IS YAWNING CONTAGlOUSs
A Question Any One Can Investigate
For Himself In Spare Moments.

A aucBt1On ANY Ohc Sau AhNcSNS"sS
For Himself In Spare Moments.
"See that man sitting q yawn?" said
the man who takes an interest in curl
Gus little things, to his neighbor.
"Well, keep your eyes open and see
what happens"
The man who had unlimbered his
jaws was sitting with three or four
hundred others in stuffy little church
where a masculine looking female, Sc
verely clothed in black, was holding
forth on the subject Of 1.-THE Predispo-
sition of the Fijian Toward the Soften
ing Influences of Christianity" The
talk was dreary and wearisome enough
but hardly so depressing as to account
for the maxillary manifestations that
followed the initial yawn.
One by one gloved hands went lazily
up all over the house, to cover the un-
due display Of dental furniture. Doz-
ems of bored listeners to the right and
left Of the. man who first spread his
jaws, sought relief in good, wide and
satisfying yawns. Dozens more In
front and behind the pioneer yawned
broadly one after another. In a few
minutes the epidemic died away as
quickly as 1t came.
"Did you observe all that and catch
on to what I was driving at?" said
the philosopher in odds and ends.
perhaps you didn't see the connection,
but it is fact that everybody in the
room yawned for no other reason In the
world than because the first man did.
won't attempt to explain the mental
or physical phenomenon of the reason
why yawns are as contagious as chole-
ra, but it nevertheless is true.
Its funny thing as well as curl
Gus, but anybody who happens to think
and watch people around him may see
the yawning epidemic follow a single
facial stretch. I don't know what
causes it.; dare say you know no more
about it than I do, and never heard
Of a doctor who could explain 1t. The
single and singular fact remains that
whenever two or more persons are to-
gether and one Of them yawns uncon-
sciously or with intent all the others
in the party will follow suit without
knowing what they are doing. I say
the first yawner need not do it uncon-
sciously If he wishes in the interest of
science to test the working Of the phe-
nomena.
IT was on North Side street car the
other day with a friend, when I hap
pened to think Of this very thing. I
turned to my companion and, for want
of better subject to gossip about. I
told him pretty much what I am tell
ing you. He scoffed at the idea, said
1 must have been carried away by a
coincidence or even by what Edward
Everett Hale calls a coincidence of
the third order put I knew I was
right. To prove the thing I tried a
practical demonstration. Now I said
to him, watch what follows
There were about twenty people in
in the evening. didn't know a soul Of
the lot. I clapped my hands quickly
and loudly, and then wnen everybody
in the car stared at me to ascertai.l I
the reason for the unusual noise, put
my hand to my mouth and 'gaped,' as
they call it in the rural districts, wide
ly and ostentatiously. Nothing hap
pened for about a minute, and I was
beginning to fear that my theories
were no good when a naughty woman
in the corner of the car saved the day.
She yawned SO that I had splendid
view Of her oesophagus before she got
her hand to her face to hide the dis
play. The day was saved for in an
other minute three-fourths of the peo-
pie in the car were concealing yawns.
My friend was forced to admit that it
looked queer.
Il know a mean-spirited man who
ruined an oratorical effort one night by
starting an epidemic Of jaw-stretching.
This person went on one occasion to
hear a speaker for whom ne had par
ticular dislike. The man who was to
talk was very vain as well as very bril-
liant, and kept close watch on his au-
dience to see how they were touched
by his silvery eloquence. He was Of
the sort that encouragement. spurs and