Sunday, June 10, 2012

on the "Pee Shiver"

Most readers will understand the term "pee shiver", and yet a portion will not.  There is a nervous response to the urge to urinate which causes a kind of muscular tremor to occur.  Mine have always been very strong and violent.  Robert can always tell when we're in the car and I suddenly have to pee because my whole body shudders and I involuntarily make a short moan sound.  However, he rarely gets these shivers and thinks it's funny when I do.

He's not alone.  I was a party years ago when the topic came up and over half of the crowd was baffled; they had never experienced such a thing in their lives and really couldn't understand what it was.

It must be an evolutionary thing.  Did our ancestors get it, or is it a more recent development?  What purpose does it serve?  Without my pee shiver, would I not know that my bladder was getting full?  Many times I get the shiver after I have already urinated.  George Carlin must have had this occur since he made it part of his stand up routine.  He joked that the pee shiver must be an innate condition to help us "shake" off any left over drips.  Evidently he only got the shiver after he was finished.

I know this is a strange topic, but it really does make you think: how many little stupid things is built into our genes and what purpose does it or did it serve?  Did our prehistoric ancestors get a little shiver to alert them they needed to begin a search for adequate bathroom facilities?

Do other animals get this shiver?  I have seen my cat finish using her litter box and begin to exit.  Just at the last moment she will pause, her eyes narrow and her tail quickly spasms, sending her into a leap out of the box.  Maybe this is her pee shiver.

Okay, discuss.