OJNOM
Yawn Research
For hundreds of years experts have sought to explain the meanings and science of yawning. In this series I combine my original photographs with selected observations, opinions and research printed along the borders of the image.
Some of the yawns included here occurred as unsolicited, funny or annoying interruptions. However, when I realized how urgent, unrestrained and dramatic the expressions could be, I immediately wanted to capture more whenever I could. I never asked the model to yawn, and all happened during unrelated assignments. However, when the models realized I was actively trying to photograph the yawns, they often tried to restrain or conceal the oscitation. Every yawn would then ignite for me, a sudden, unpredicted. chaotic struggle. A mad fumble to point, focus and shoot at a zipzagging, fleeing trophy before its inevitable, too quick vanishment.
Yawn n.118 ("Yawning was fatal then...")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP- . 12" W, 12" H, 2" Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated in oil on back of box. 2028-2025, Unique.
Quotation used in Yawn n118:
“Yawning was fatal then, and the habit of signing the cross in front of the mouth originated during the times of the plague…Their souls left their bodies when they sneezed or yawned. This is why we said ‘God bless you’ to those who sneezed. Those who yawned made the sign of the cross over their mouths.”
Cited in research paper: “Cover your mouth! Disease avoidance predicts the stigmatization of yawning” Mitch Brown, Samuel E. Snowden, Andrew C. Gallup
University of Arkansas, United States of America
Psychology and Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences Programs, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, NY 13502, United States of America
Received 29 March 2022, Revised 21 April 2022, Accepted 24 April 2022, Available online 1 May 2022, Version of Record 1 May 2022.
Also cited book:
Cites: Le Camus A. La médecine pratique rendue plus simple, plus sûre et plus
méthodique. Paris. 1769. Gagneau Lib. 477p.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886922001994
2025-2026, Unique
Yawn n.202 ("Instruction to resist significantly increases the urge...")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP- . 12" W, 12" H, 2" Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Quotation used in Yawn n.202
“The instruction to resist yawning significantly increases the urge to yawn and alters how the yawn may be expressed, but it does not alter the individual’s propensity for yawning” - Beverley Brown et al., Current Biology, 2017
A Neural Basis for Contagious Yawning, Current Biology, Volume 27, Issue 17, 2017
Beverley J Brown, Soyoung Kim, Hannah Saunders, Clarissa Bachmann 1, Jessica Thompson 1, Danielle Ropar, Stephen R Jackson, Georgina M Jackson
PMID: 28867202 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.062
Yawn n.307 ("Frequent yawning sometimes occurs during childbirth...")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP- . 12" W, 12" H, 2" Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Quotation used in Yawn n.307
“Frequent yawning sometimes occurs in women during childbirth, indicating that the delivery will be difficult and that the mother’ s strength is oppressed or weakened.”
Auguste Landre-Beauvais (1772-1840), medical book: Traité des signes des maladies (‘Treatise on the Signs of Diseases’, 1815).
Cited in Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience
The Mystery of Yawning in Physiology and DiseaseFree
Edited by O. Walusinski. S.Karger AG, Volume 28
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/isbn.978-3-8055-9405-9
ISBN electronic: 978-3-8055-9405-9
ISBN print: 978-3-8055-9404-2
Book Series: Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience
https://karger.com/books/book/2691/chapter/5762156/Historical-Perspectives
Yawn n.171 ("...Satan will urinate
in your mouth.")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3- P99. 13" W, 13" H, 2" Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated in oil on back of box. 2028-2025, Unique.
“If You Don’t Cover Your Mouth When You Yawn, Satan Will Urinate In Your Mouth” - Egyptian Cleric Wagdi Ghoneim
Source: The attribution of this quote was discovered in an online search, on the Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) in 2024. But I could not find the link in late 2025. It was attributed to Egyptian Cleric Wagdi Ghoneim: “If You Don’t Cover Your Mouth When You Yawn, Satan Will Urinate in Your Mouth.” Aug 13, 2010
A reference to this belief can be found in a research paper: “Yawning : comparative study of knowledge and beliefs,” O. Walusinski. Institute of Internal Medicine, Madras Medical College, Chennai – 600 003, India.
Yawn n.229 ("A yawning is quite catching you see like a cough...")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3-P99. . 12" W, 12" H, 2" Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Quotation on Yawn n.226
‘A yawn is quite catching you see. Like a cough. It just takes one yawn to start other yawns off. Now the news has come in that some friends of Van Vleck’s are yawning so wide you can see down their necks’ Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book 1962
Yawn n.119 ("...yawning by paratroopers before their first parachute jump.")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3- P99. 13" W, 13" H, 1.25" deep.2 lbs. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated in oil on back of box. 2028-2025, Unique.
Quotation on Yawn n.119
‘There is anecdotal evidence of yawning by paratroopers before their first parachute jump, Olympic athletes before their event, a violinist waiting to go on stage to perform a concerto, and dogs on the threshold of attack.”
Source: Robert R. Provine, professor of neurobiology and psychology at the University of Maryland. “Yawning: The yawn is primal, unstoppable and contagious, revealing the evolutionary and neural basis of empathy and unconscious behavior.” Published in the American Scientist in the November-December 2005 issue (Volume 93, Issue 6)
https://www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/files/200510314450_646.pdf
Yawn n.127 ("Human yawning elicited yawns in 72% of dogs...")
Quotation on Yawn n.127
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3-P99. 13.25" W, 13.25" H, 1.25" deep. 2lbs. 6oz. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Quotation on Yawn n.127
“The presentation of human yawning elicited yawns in 72 per cent of the dogs tested, which is higher than the rate reported in humans (45–60%) and chimpanzees (33%). This effect cannot be attributed to a general effect of the mere presence of unfamiliar humans, or to the observation of human mouth movements in general, because no dogs yawned in the control condition.”
Source: “Dogs catch human yawns” Published in Biology Letters, 2008 Aug 5;4(5):446–448. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0333. Ramiro M Joly-Mascheroni 1, Atsushi Senju 1,Alex J Shepherd
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2610100/
Yawn n.153 ("When you start to yawn...")
Quotation on Yawn n.153
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3- P99. 12.125" W, 12.125" H, 1.25" deep.2 lbs. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated in oil on back of box. 2028-2025, Unique.
“When you start to yawn, powerful stretching of the jaw increases blood flow in the neck, face, and head. The deep intake of breath during a yawn forces downward flow of spinal fluid and blood from the brain. Cool air breathed into the mouth cools these fluids.” — WebMD
Source: Explanation found on WebMD October, 2024. Explanation since modified.
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/what-to-know-about-yawning
Yawn n.643
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3-P99. 12.065" W, 12.065" H, 1.25" deep. 2lbs. 6oz. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Yawn n.125.3 ("...identical to the one we make when we're orgasmic.")
Quotation on Yawn n.125.3
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3- P99. 12.25" W, 12.25" H, 1.25" deep.2 lbs. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back
“The facial expression made while yawning is virtually identical to the one we make when we’re orgasmic.” Todd B. Kashdan, Phychology Today, 2016
Source: Article in Phychology Today, June 1, 2016. “8 Fascinating Discoveries About Yawning.,” by Todd B. Kashdan. “Yawning is pleasurable. When asked by scientists, the average person rated the experience of yawning an 8.5 on a scale from 1 (bad) to 10 (good). Bonus fun fact: The facial expression made while yawning is virtually identical to the one we make when we’re orgasmic. See for yourself the next time you’re with your partner.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/curious/201606/8-fascinating-discoveries-about-yawning
Yawn n.660 ("...overlook an employee for promotion if they persistently yawn.")
Archival ink jet print of original O.J.Nom photograph mounted under archival and non glare Acrylite OP3-P99. 42.75" W, 12.5" H, 1.75" 8 lbs. Mounted on dibond aluminum with metal hanging frame Signed and dated on back..
Quotation on Yawn n.660
“One in 10 managers would overlook an employee for promotion if they persistently yawn.”
Source: “Persistent yawning at work doesn’t help an employee’s promotion prospects” by David Woods. HR Magazine, September 18, 2009