Flickr photo by benus
Hold on to your antihistamines, you sneezers out there! I know that most of the time, sneezing isn't fun. Or funny.
But you've got to admit...we make some awfully funny faces right before we let loose!
Like that collie, with his half wink and twitchy nose.
And this squirrel
Flickr photo by kintired
who won't let go of the nut!
And this little girl, who is either about to sneeze
Flickr photo by wendyjacka
or just can't believe her mommy didn't get her tickets to see Hannah Montana.
And this cat
Flickr photo by marleen.meijer
who looks like she just got a bad piece of kibble. Or maybe she's disgusted because she was hoping for paté. (I'm serious. Kind of. Paté brought new joy into my cat Katie's life in France. I wrote about it in French By Heart.)
We could go into the gross reasons why we sneeze, but let's don't.
Except for the really strange reasons.
Did you know that a sudden exposure to direct light, particularly sunlight, makes some people sneeze? It's called the photic sneeze reflex, and I find it fascinating. And guess what. It's genetic! Can't you just imagine that family reunion! They step outside to take the family photo and everyone looks like this.
Flickr photo by Capture Them
According to my friends at Wikipedia, sneezing can also be triggered by a particularly full stomach.
Yet another reason to sneeze at a family reunion!
Sorry. I've got family reunions on the brain. We missed the one last week in Kentucky, and my tummy is oh so sad. And my heart too. I don't just love my family for the food. Although the food helps. The deviled eggs! The cakes and pies! The fried chicken! The Kentucky green beans!
I feel a sneeze coming on.
Tell me this:
Can you be thrown into a sneezing fit because your daughter is about to leave for college on Friday, and your middle son had stitches last Friday, and your youngest son is already refusing to go to school when it starts up next week because school is stupid? And who invented it anyway?
No? None of that causes sneezing?
Oh that's right! It must cause loud, uncontrollable bouts of inappropriate laughter instead.
Or maybe that's just me.
Back to sneezing.
If you come visit me, Tanner the Slobber Dog will greet you with a sneeze.
And not just one.
He will sneeze all over you, over and over again. He will baptize you in sneezes. Lucky you!
Here he is, before his summer haircut, waiting for Sam's friend to open the door so he can shower him with greetings.
It's his way of saying hello.
I'd take Tanner to a dog psychologist but I don't know any. So we just keep lots of tissue and hand sanitizer around. And a leash, for people who don't care for sneezy animals. (The leash is for Tanner, not the people. Although the people would be welcome to put it on if they like. Tanner would think that was hilarious and then he'd try to take them for a walk.)
I also think it's funny to see how other languages spell out the sneezing sound. You know. Like achoo!
The first syllable makes the sound of the sudden intake of air, and the second, the sound of the actual sneeze. In French they write "Atchoum!"; in Swedish "Atjo"; in Hebrew "Apchi!"; in German "Hatschie!"; in Russian, "Apchkhi!"; in Italian, "Etciù!"; inSpanish "¡Achú!" or "¡Achís!"; and in Japanese, "Hakushon!".
What's that I hear?
Flickr photo by ItyChari
God Bless you, sweet little spaniel!
That reminds me. I love that the French say à vos souhaits after a sneeze, which means "to your wishes." And if the person sneezes again, you say à vos amours, "to your loves." How about those French? They're so romantic!
To your wishes! And to your loves!
Have a Wonder-full Tuesday, y'all.
And before you go, you absolutely MUST watch this video. It's of a panda having a little sneezing fit. I defy you to find anything cuter!
Bless you!
Love, Becky
17 comments:
Bless you!
And the Panda!
What a great topic for discussion.
Did you know that sneezes come in set's of three's?
Good luck to you daughter as she starts her wonderful adventure
& hope your son in stitches is feeling better.
Keep the fire burning Becky!
xox
Constance
This is SO odd - I sneezed just before I opened your blog! Must be contagious LOL!!
Have a blessed day! - Teresa
You deserve a good sneeze. poor you no fun
Hi Becky,
I needed my allergy meds just to read that!!
Very cute, and interesting. Now I will be observing the way in which people sneeze.
Have a great day!
Rosemary
THis is a delightful and fun post to read....
What a wonderful thing for the French to say after a sneeze…
Is that said by the person who sneezed or to the person who sneezed?
This little saying is similar to what I use to say to my kids when they were blowing bubbles. When that big bubble popped that their worked so hard to make I would say,
“they hear your wishes” …
Louise
All my life, I've been prone to sneezing fits, up to 30 or 40 in succession, with no apparent provocation whatsoever. About 10 years ago, I was told this was characteristic of Irish blood. Have you ever heard of any such thing?
(Congratulations, Becky; you are now the web's foremost international expert on the sneeze.)
Oh my goodness! I ALWAYS sneeze in the sun! As does my dad. I've always wondered what caused that!
once again...great photos. The Capture Theme photo of the baby was ideal....he....he...
The panda was too cute!
Love this! And, my husband has the photo sneezey thing!! It's so funny, when he walks into bright sunlight, he sneezes twice. So does his brother, and his nephew. We all find it completely hilarious that it runs in the family.
Better that than kleptomania I suppose!
Oh, and I meant to tell you that Edward always looks so totally surprised when he sneezes. I don't think he gets it at all! He sort of looks like Tip O'Neal sneezing.
That panda! I may never be the same! It's so cute it kills!
I am one of those people with a photo sneeze reflex. Good thing I live in San Francisco, where the sun never shines!
Gesundheit. :)
Cats sneezing are funny to watch.
My son and I both sneeze when we hit the sun---not often, but it happens!
Wow, your boy was lucky he didn't hurt his head or face. Those things always happen JUST before school starts, too! Speaking of school---ooooh, you are going to have a fun year with your youngest! I recall those times with mine :-) I know it is tough on you with your daughter leaving for school this Fri.--you'll just have to talk to her lots on the phone and visit her as ofter as she will allow it! :-) Our kiddos stayed in our area to attend college, so I didn't suffer then, but I did have a rough time when our son took a job in another state and was there for about 3 yrs. Thankfully, that job brought him back to our area last year! Have a better week and give slobber dog a big old hug from me!
Bless you all for your great comments!
And wow! Some of you have the sunshine induced sneezing thing! So interesting!
Bless you for such funny pics! Once again, you've made me smile!
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