Peeing could be as contagious as yawning

Scientists have discovered that chimps are likely to urinate when they see others doing it – and even more so when a dominant member of their pack does – suggesting that they are trying to imitate them.

As human and monkey DNA is similar due to the two species being closely related, researchers have suggested that the trait could be replicated in people.

Ena Onishi, a wildlife researcher at Kyoto University in Japan, said: "In humans, urinating together can be seen as a social phenomenon."Our research suggests this may have deep evolutionary roots...

"Since there were no studies on contagious urination in any species, we drew parallels to contagious yawning."Based on this, we expected that any social influences might resemble those seen in yawning."

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