chasmology

What may become 2010’s Conference of the Year has just been announced. The International Congress of Chasmology will take place in June in Paris, and papers are solicited now. Anyone bored by that statement should read further, for the topic to be discussed is not diving but yawning (“chasmology” deriving from the Greek word for the pastime.)

2009 November 17, Steve Jones, “View from the Lab”, in The Daily Telegraph, number 48,042, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 29

The Italian scientists suggest that it is all about feeling close to each other. They found that the stronger our social bonds with someone, the more likely we are to yawn when they do. […] If the researchers are correct, their study may constitute a minor leap forward for the science of chasmology (the technical term for the study of yawning; it derives from the Greek).

2011 December 11, John Naish, “It's NOT a sign of boredom. It DOESN'T boost oxygen in the brain. So why DO we yawn?”, in Daily Mail, London: DMG Media, →ISSN, →OCLC

Most of us associate yawning with lack of sleep, or with “catching” a yawn from someone else’s. […] But chasmology, the study of yawning, shows that most vertebrate animals experience yawning – mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, even fish – and contrary to Merriam-Webster, the actual causes of yawning are poorly understood.

2024 March, Maxine, “Ask Maxine”, in Angie Ripple, editor, Bozeman Magazine, volume 17.10, Bozeman, Mont.: Casen Creative, →OCLC, page 8, column 1