Day 84: Gesundheit!!

We spent the day with dad today and I'm certain he sneezed no less than 7 times. Each sneeze was loud and fast and scary!

I must admit that I am a lover of untamed sneezes.

I never understood the person who could contain a sneeze to a squeaky "ahchew!" while my own sneeze, if it came down to it, would most likely wake the dead:

BLAHHHHH-SHOOOOO!!!

You always hear those frightening facts that if you keep your eyes open when you sneeze that they'll explode out of the sockets. With our family - I have no doubts of (or intentions of proving) their truthfulness. Here are some other interesting facts about sneezing:

• The tradition of blessing someone with "good health" (gesundheit literally translated) started centuries ago during the plague where a sneeze was often a symptom of the fatal disease.
• Some studies have shown that sneezing can provoke a stroke or follow a seizure (or, in dad's case, give a heart attack to anyone within earshot of his "KA-BLOOEY!!" sneeze). :)
• A sneeze by a storyteller at just the right time can be a sign of truthfulness to an otherwise fabled tale.
• Sneezing during a prayer (according to Jewish tradition) is a sign that God heard your prayer.
• Bright lights, strong odors, even extreme emotions such as happiness, fear, anxiety, resentment can cause the body to sneeze.
• Pregnant women may be more susceptible to sneezing than others.
• People generally sneeze in patterns - usually once or twice. Some cases report people sneezing up to 10 times or more in a row!

(http://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/22/garden/gesundheit-sneezing-gets-a-big-reaction.html)

Dad, since you enjoyed the youtube video so much of the mom scaring her baby with a loud nose blow, I thought you'd enjoy this video as well. Happy sneezing (and scaring!)