When someone sneezes...

[Obi2Kenobi]

notorious triangles

[Chaerophon]

Well, you wouldn't want their soul to escape!?! B)

[WarBlade]

The "something else" in my case is, "Hey so-and-so's exploding!" (grabbing the name of the exploder and announcing it loudly enough for dozens to hear).

It's amazing the kind of results this can generate, one of the best being a kind of simultaneous sneezing and sniggering effect that I quickly move to evade if it happens. :lol:

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

--

[[wcip]Angel]

I say "ehem."

[TaMeOlta]

No option for "Eeeeew" - followed by wiping off-arm gesture ? :blink:

[TaiDaishar]

Well, you wouldn't want their soul to escape!?!  B)

Actually, the origin of "God bless you" when some sneezes is from the Black(dark?) Plague where when a people sneezed it was usually a sign he was infected and therefore the pope at that time ordered to tell every one who sneezes God bless you because he may die very soon.

Nothing like School Research projects in order to get useless information I always said :)

[LemmingofGlory]

...they don't get any on me.

Actually, it bothers me when people say it. My allergies leave me prone to sneezing fits on bad days, and all that constant "Bless you" gets on my nerves. They don't know me; they don't care. It's just a sneeze, and that doesn't count for much in modern days.

Flatulence, on the other hand, is truly modern social concern. If anything, I think this is something we should speak up about. A neighborly "That sounded wet; the bathroom's that way" would be most helpful.

[o: *LEMMING* :o]

[[wcip]Angel]

Or a "why aren't you holding it in like the rest of us, you inconsiderate twat?"

[EspyLacopa]

However, I believe that geshundheit means something akin to "god bless you."

[Yan]

nitpicking time!

[Nicodemus Phaulkon]

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[Swarmalicious]

Lately, I like to say "You've got SARS," phonetically the same as AOL's 'you've got mail'.
I also like "Satan CONDEMN YOU!"
and if its the 3rd or fourth sneeze I like telling the poor sneezer that, you know, Jesus Christ is really terribly busy if you wouldn't mind wrapping things up.

...I like that this has come up here - its an ongoing debate among my friends. I really can't stand saying it, on the basis of its origins. All the silly little things like this in language always bug me, the leftovers from all kinds of outdated things... and to the constant eye-rolling distress of my unwilling audience, I frequently voice my distaste. When you take this issue to great length though - where do words come from - and start careful internal analysis whenever you go to create a sentence, the very fabric of language starts to unravel. That road runs close to madness. ;)

When someone sneezes, I usually resort to a funny placeholder like the ones above, since I can't deal with the awkward dead air silence that follows a sneeze if I say nothing.
I'd like people ('speshly strangers) to understand that like random people care, in fact that I am a caring person, because 'what the world needs now, is love, sweet love', if you catch my drift. But not saying anything, and then explaining like a lunatic for 3 minutes why I didn't say anything is much more of an ass pain than simply saying Bless you in the first place.

So I guess its here to stay.

[Yan]

no text

[Occhidiangela]

"Bless you"

"Gesundheit" since my dad always said that when we were kids

or

"get much on you?"

or

"What a lovely shade of green! Matches your eyes!"


Depends on who is sneezing, and how much beer I have had, and how well we know one another.

If it is my brother, I usually wipe off my sleeve and say something like

"Thanks for the racing stripes." It is related to an old joke between us. :D

[Obi2Kenobi]

Gesundheit is the german word for health.

[Yan]

Every time someone sneezed I used to wish them things like "intelligence!" or "beauty!" or simply "a brain!". Worked wonders to make them forget about their cold (or whatever caused their spontaneous ejection of snot) with the rather unpleasant consequence of them coming after me - hey why are you looking at me like this, I'm just here to help, honestly?! :ph34r:

Yan

[Jeunemaitre]

I knew somebody once who said "You're welcome" when someone sneezed. He explained it as a simplification of the exchange:

Person A: "Bless you"
Sneezer: "Thank you"
Person A: "You're welcome "

By eliminating the initial lines of the exchange, he felt that "You're welcome " not only saved on time, but also limited that nasty personal interaction thing, while simultaneously avoiding any inadvertent slight to the sneezer's deity of choice. Not the most heartfelt of approaches, but then again this wasn't the leader of the sympathy brigade...

Personally, I always try to suppress my sneezes and keep them confined to my sinuses and nasal cavities. I figure this will either keep from offending people, or make my head explode so I don't have to worry about it. :blink:

[FoxBat]

Personally, I always try to suppress my sneezes and keep them confined to my sinuses and nasal cavities.  I figure this will either keep from offending people, or make my head explode so I don't have to worry about it. :blink:

Recalling a certain Calvin 'n Hobbes comic here... :D

[Sickywicky]

I also say the dutch form of bless you "Gezondheid" not only I say this when someone sneezes but also when they fart or burp very nicely, but those are just personal bad habits. :D