The customary Jewish fast on day of atonement ("Yom Kippurim") is ~24-26 hours without food or water. Indeed, it makes no sense to me. But it does exist. An i

The customary Jewish fast on day of atonement ("Yom Kippurim") is ~24-26 hours without food or water. Indeed, it makes no sense to me. But it does exist. An interesting side effect is an increased number of deliveries among fasting late-term pregnant women (which are not required to fast -- in fact, are required NOT to fast, but some do so anyway) -- as if there's delivery mechanism that says ("oops, mommy can't find food with you inside, perhaps if you go outside it'll work better").