Banter Bites

Dare You – Don’t Yawn Reading This

It's funny, the habits you don't even know you have … or why.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Every time Red yawns when she's wearing her mask, she laughs at herself covering her mouth, thinking why does she even bother as it's already covered and then, in the next breath, remembers that her extremely pragmatic sister does the same thing.

After all, it's really just a habit. A good habit. One we were taught as kids, although not with as interesting an explanation as the supposed "real" reason described by Thrillist (we love the "bizarre" explanations of other routine traditions, too),

You do it now because it's courteous and hygienic, but way back when, people were shielding their mouths during a sneeze or yawn for very different reasons. Ancient cultures believe that when you sneezed, you left an empty void inside that could be filled with evil spirits, and that yawning left you susceptible to demons entering through your mouth.

Of course, Black was curious about "why" (her favorite word) we yawn and was surprised to find an interesting analysis on the Library of Congress website (we know that yawning's contagious, but just the pictures of people and animals yawning, made her yawn). She also found an article with a simple table on the causes and a "yawning test".

Red's reaction?

Just the topic of yawning makes me yawn. But covering my mouth – with or without a mask – is a comforting part of the process.

No matter what holiday you may celebrate, Red can’t help but quote a line from one of her favorite Christmas songs, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, your troubles will be out of sight.”

And Black can’t help but point out that the song wasn’t introduced in a Christmas movie but in the movie "Meet Me In St. Louis."

Wishing you a merry everything and a happy always!

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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