[Carolyn (OP)]

....and if so, why?

[JnA]

Short answer no with a but..

long answer yes with an if...



'experts' don't agree that this occurs.. but it probably has to do with the stage of sleep the person is in and/or how 'suggestible' they are. Some people associate water pictures / sounds / suggestions with urinating.

[Bored chemist]

If it was reliably true then every dormitory, be it school, army or whatever, in the world would have at least one unfortunate victim of this prank. It would be so well known that there wouldn't be any question of it.
It might happen to some small group of the population, but it must be quite rare.

[Don_1]

Shall I experiment on the Mrs tonight?

No, perhaps not, don't want a wet bed!!!

[JnA]

If it was reliably true then every dormitory, be it school, army or whatever, in the world would have at least one unfortunate victim of this prank.

I thought they did!

[Bored chemist]

Can you verify that hypothesis?

[JnA]

Can you verify that hypothesis?

heresay mostly.


Maybe we should do a mass forum experiment.. surely we all have partners, children or animals to experiment on...

[Bored chemist]

Well, since I live alone, all I can do is point out that it's a simple experiment and I think all those of you who can should join in. I gather that incontinence pants are not that expensive so all you need is an understanding family member with a deep apreciation of the value of science.

Seriously, I can't imagine that any medical student gets through their training without being severely tempted to test this idea. Now, since there are a few doctors who regulalry post here, who gave in to temptation and tried this?

[turnipsock]

I thought it was supposed to be cold water.

[JnA]

I have the perfect set of subjects for this experiment. But there are obstacles..  *shakes fist at ethics committees*

[Bored chemist]

http://www.lab-initio.com/screen_res/nz015.jpg
Surely it's just a matter of getting informed consent?

[JnA]

A set of babies as 'controls' would be good too.

[Bored chemist]

Ignoring the ethics of experimenting on babies, surely a set of results that said "Babies with hand in water - all found to have wet nappies vs babies with dry hands also all found to have wet nappies too" doesn't really tell you much?
I think the original myth/story is about people old enough to not normally wet the bed. Looks like we still need some volunteers.
(and is it my imagination or is this a rather odd thread?)

[Carolyn (OP)]

Ignoring the ethics of experimenting on babies, surely a set of results that said "Babies with hand in water - all found to have wet nappies vs babies with dry hands also all found to have wet nappies too" doesn't really tell you much?
I think the original myth/story is about people old enough to not normally wet the bed. Looks like we still need some volunteers.
(and is it my imagination or is this a rather odd thread?)

LOL...yes, it is an odd thread, but sometimes I think of odd things.  Actually, I was watching an episode of "House", where he (House) put Wilson's hand in a bowl of water, it never showed if it worked or not.  It got me wondering about the science behind it and if it would work on my brother who is horrible and evil and needs to be paid back for numerous hateful pranks!

[Don_1]

It occurs to me that there could be some historical connection to this phenomena. We also say that the sound of running water can make you want to pee. Perhaps the two are inducements (immersion in water and hearing water) come from our distant past.

I am basing this on the fact that my two tortoises will urinate when they are given a bath. The reason for this is that, in their native habitat, water can be scarce, therefore, a tortoise will hold on to its urine for the purpose of body hydration until it can hold it's urine no longer, or until it finds a source of water. Once the tortoise has entered the body of water and satisfied itself that it can drink the water, it knows it can safely urinate and then be able to replace the lost water with a fresh supply.

Now, of course, we are not reptiles (although there are certain individuals who display the odd reptilian characteristic or two), but could it be that early man would act in much the same way as my tortoises? If so, perhaps this urge to pee when hearing, contacting or seeing water is a throwback from our ancestors.

[Bored chemist]

Ignoring the ethics of experimenting on babies, surely a set of results that said "Babies with hand in water - all found to have wet nappies vs babies with dry hands also all found to have wet nappies too" doesn't really tell you much?
I think the original myth/story is about people old enough to not normally wet the bed. Looks like we still need some volunteers.
(and is it my imagination or is this a rather odd thread?)

LOL...yes, it is an odd thread, but sometimes I think of odd things.  Actually, I was watching an episode of "House", where he (House) put Wilson's hand in a bowl of water, it never showed if it worked or not.  It got me wondering about the science behind it and if it would work on my brother who is horrible and evil and needs to be paid back for numerous hateful pranks!

Tell our brother that if he tries any more tricks you will consider him to have volunteered to take part in the experiment.

[harryneopotter]

LOL...yes, it is an odd thread, but sometimes I think of odd things.  Actually, I was watching an episode of "House", where he (House) put Wilson's hand in a bowl of water, it never showed if it worked or not.  It got me wondering about the science behind it and if it would work on my brother who is horrible and evil and needs to be paid back for numerous hateful pranks!

i was watching the same episode ..and was wondering the same thing. Googled for it, and this page was the first result. awesome, right ?

BTW, at the end of the episode, the did show that the prank worked

[Boogie]

Ignoring the ethics of experimenting on babies, surely a set of results that said "Babies with hand in water - all found to have wet nappies vs babies with dry hands also all found to have wet nappies too" doesn't really tell you much?
I think the original myth/story is about people old enough to not normally wet the bed. Looks like we still need some volunteers.
(and is it my imagination or is this a rather odd thread?)

LOL...yes, it is an odd thread, but sometimes I think of odd things.  Actually, I was watching an episode of "House", where he (House) put Wilson's hand in a bowl of water, it never showed if it worked or not.  It got me wondering about the science behind it and if it would work on my brother who is horrible and evil and needs to be paid back for numerous hateful pranks!

I hope you report the results of your experiment!

[Bored chemist]

After all this time, nobody seems to have done the experiment.