Forget yawning! Scientists say that PEEING is contagious
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It's a well-known fact that yawning is contagious and can spread around a room in a matter of seconds. Now, a study has shown that the same is true - for peeing. Researchers from Kyoto University found that chimpanzees are more likely to urinate when they see others doing it.
![[The new study, in one of our closest relatives, found chimps who have less social status are more likely to copy someone else who has just urinated]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/20/13/94295101-0-The_new_study_in_one_of_our_closest_relatives_found_chimps_who_h-a-67_1737379393637.jpg)
Ena Onishi, who led the study, said: 'In humans, urinating together can be seen as a social phenomenon. 'An Italian proverb states, "Whoever doesn't pee in company is either a thief or a spy", while in Japanese, the act of urinating with others is referred to as "Tsureshon".
'This behaviour is represented in art across centuries and cultures and continues to appear in modern social contexts. 'Our research suggests that this phenomenon may have deep evolutionary roots. 'We found that chimpanzees, our closest relatives, tend to urinate in response to the urination of nearby individuals.'.
It's a well-known fact that yawning is contagious and can spread around a room in a matter of seconds. Now, a study has shown that the same is true - for peeing. The researchers decided to investigate after noticing that captive chimpanzees living at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan tended to urinate at about the same time.
The behaviour reminded them of people, and so they trawled through more than 600 hours of video footage of the chimps, analysing 1,328 times the animals went to the toilet. The results showed urination events were significantly more synchronised than they would be if the primates were just peeing randomly.
