Peeing is contagious among chimps

When ya gotta go, ya gotta go, and if it sometimes seems like the urge to pee seems more pressing when others nearby are letting loose—well, there's now a bit of science to back that up. It turns out that humans may not be the only species to experience "contagious urination," according to a new paper published in the journal Current Biology. Chimpanzees living at the Kumamoto Sanctuary in Japan are also more likely to relieve themselves when others are doing so nearby, and the behavior seems to be hierarchical, "flowing down" from dominant chimps to more passive ones.

“In humans, urinating together can be seen as a social phenomenon,” said coauthor Ena Onishi of Kyoto University. “An Italian proverb states, ‘Whoever doesn’t pee in company is either a thief or a spy’ (Chi non piscia in compagnia o è un ladro o è una spia), while ...