[evan_au (OP)]

A recent episode of The Naked Scientists podcast discussed a finding that chimpanzees seemed to exhibit "contagious urination".
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/weeing-contagious-chimpanzees

What is the benefit of contagious urination? How is the contagion spread?

[evan_au (OP)]

How is the contagion spread?

It's a common saying that if you want a child to pee, run some water in the basin - the tinkle of running water seems to encourage urination. I've heard adults say that this sound also makes them want to pee.

So could the sound of urination (the tinkle of running water) encourage nearby individuals to also feel like urinating?

What is the benefit of contagious urination?
If you have a group of 20-100 individuals on the move, if you had to stop every time one of them wanted to pee, you couldn't move very far or fast.
- But if urination is contagious, they would all pee at the same time, meaning they could travel a fair distance before they all had to pee again.
- Is an army pausing for 5 minutes in every hour of marching an example of synchronised urination?

[Bored chemist]

My experience in the pub, where there's plenty of urination, is that men typically take it in turns so there's someone left to look after the coats and keep the table.

[Colin2B]

A local marina has a problem with Starlings gathering in the rigging of yachts before going to their roosts in the nearby reed beds. Their droppings cause some nuisance to the owners particularly, when the birds have been feeding on blackberries. I watched one irritated owner come on deck with an air horn to scare them off. The sounds of 50+ birds lightening the load before taking off was reminiscent of a summer downpour!
I wonder if that could be similar with the chimps. If there is a cause for alarm, best to lighten up rather than stop behind a tree when the leopard is behind you. Urination could become associated with alarm, stress, get ready to run?

[alancalverd]

Evan's post is the obverse of the old army saying: "The wise man pees when he can. The fool pees when he must." So getting used to a 5 minute halt every hour is an unspoken part of squad training!