# YAWN! Show those fangs! YAWN! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777 "2007-04-04T21:24:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/1 "2007-04-04T21:24:49Z")
Have you ever noticed that, when carnivores yawn, they can yawn really, REALLY wide? Like, say, [a good 90 degrees?](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2088667870000735275YpVlsn) A sobering sight to ponder, eh? Not least when seen [head on.](http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2816170310000735275pkkzZo) Herbivores don’t seem to achieve such an impressive gape, but then, perhaps I simply haven’t seen a really good one. So, fellow Dopers, associates of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores, got yawns to share? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![50million](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/9fc348/32.png) [@50million](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/50million)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/2 "2007-04-04T21:27:28Z")
[Hippos](http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2006-40,GGLJ:en&q=hippo+yawn) can open pretty wide. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/3 "2007-04-04T21:31:56Z")
I’d say a hippo’s [yawn](http://www.birdsasart.com/hippo%20yawn%202.jpg) isn’t anything to sneeze at. [Rats](http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~skeleton/rat%20yawn.jpg) look to have a nicely sized yawn, too. [Horses](http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~fanf2/hermes/doc/talks/2004-05-techlinks/yawn.jpg), though, only have the size of their teeth going for them. And on preview I see I’ve been beaten to the hippos. Drat! ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/4 "2007-04-04T22:26:18Z")
[Baboons](http://www.primate.or.kr/gallery/Primates/monkeys/baboon1.htm) have quite impressive yawns. (There are 3 images of yawns on that page.) ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/5 "2007-04-04T22:35:27Z")
Is anyone else yawning repeatedly while viewing this thread? ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/6 "2007-04-04T22:38:12Z")
And horse bites hurt! Damned horse thinks it’s funny to nibble on me. I’ve still got a bruise on an… um… sensitive part of my anatomy. Okay, fine, she bit me on the boob. But you’re not getting a picture. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/7 "2007-04-04T22:49:12Z")
[QUOTE=Marlitharn] Is anyone else yawning repeatedly while viewing this thread? [/QUOTE] Not until now, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/8 "2007-04-04T23:45:28Z")
[QUOTE=percypercy] And horse bites hurt! Damned horse thinks it’s funny to nibble on me. I’ve still got a bruise on an.. um.. sensitive part of my anatomy. Okay, fine, she bit me on the boob. But you’re not getting a picture. -Lil [/QUOTE] I’m not female, but I’m going “OWW! OWW!! OWW!!” about right now. And thank you for not posting pictures. At least not until the bruises heal. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/9 "2007-04-04T23:53:56Z")
[QUOTE=percypercy] And horse bites hurt! Damned horse thinks it’s funny to nibble on me. I’ve still got a bruise on an.. um.. sensitive part of my anatomy. Okay, fine, she bit me on the boob. But you’re not getting a picture. -Lil [/QUOTE] Urf. I was yawning before I opened this. Now they’re getting painful and coming faster. _yaaawn_ ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/10 "2007-04-04T23:58:15Z")
[QUOTE=Cabin\_Fever] And thank you for not posting pictures. At least not until the bruises heal. 😃 [/QUOTE] You can thank me, too, for not posting pictures of my thumb tip after [a horse bit it.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=407969) OW OW OW!!! Fortunately he released it the instant I screamed, so it’s still attached to the rest of me. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/11 "2007-04-05T00:10:41Z")
[QUOTE=EddyTeddyFreddy] Herbivores don’t seem to achieve such an impressive gape, but then, perhaps I simply haven’t seen a really good one. [/QUOTE] Probably because lettuces rarely put up a good fight. ---
**Author:** ![zelie\_zelerton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/59ef9b/32.png) [@zelie\_zelerton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zelie_zelerton)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/12 "2007-04-05T00:25:13Z")
There’s a whole website devoted to pictures of yawning animals! [http://www.gapingmaws.com/index.html](http://www.gapingmaws.com/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/13 "2007-04-05T01:17:23Z")
Oh. My. GAWD. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/14 "2007-04-05T01:21:36Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] Probably because lettuces rarely put up a good fight. [/QUOTE] 😃😃😃 But, actually, you make a good point: What the critter eats, and how it acquires it, would of course dictate the structure and capacity of the jaws and the surrounding flesh. A carnivore would need the wide gape to up the odds of it getting hold of its prey. An herbivore can afford to take small bites, and needs a long row of powerful molars to grind up its browsed roughage – molars whose encasing muscles and skin simply can’t stretch all that wide. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yawn-show-those-fangs-yawn/398777/15 "2007-04-05T16:47:36Z")
Yawning bunny! [http://www.venushairhouston.com/animallovers/bunny-yawn.jpg](http://www.venushairhouston.com/animallovers/bunny-yawn.jpg)