When Someone Sneezes...

[No_God]

I say bless you because that's what everyone says.

Do you say "bless you" when someone sneezes?

I know it's kind of a pointless question, but I've had a couple people get mad at me if I don't say it. So I was just wondering what everyone's stance is on it.

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

I say nothing. If the sneeze was extremely massive & their nose starts bleeding or something I might ask if they are OK.

Yeah, I would just get a flamethrower and light them on fire and evacuate the building at that point.

[houseofcantor]

No. It's a stupid habit propagated by stupid people.

And yeah, I really want people to call attention to the fact that I'm spewing disgusting germ-filled phlegm into the environment.

[KichigaiNeko]

Normally I would say "bless you" since one never knows just what religion the sneezer is, and wishing another well is always a safe bet.

Otherwise it is a choice of a whole bunch of silly phrases like "good sinunta blats" or the like with family.

[pocaracas]

I never understood why you're supposed to say something when someone sneezes, but not when they cough...
A sneeze comes from the nose...
A cough comes from the throat or the lungs... usually, if it's coming from the lungs, it's a much more serious condition than what you get when sneezing...

[KichigaiNeko]

I never understood why you're supposed to say something when someone sneezes, but not when they cough...
A sneeze comes from the nose...
A cough comes from the throat or the lungs... usually, if it's coming from the lungs, it's a much more serious condition than what you get when sneezing...

I got some explanation (back before the Boer War) that the first symptom of the Black Plague was a sneeze. Hence the Bless bit. By the time it was coming up from the lungs you were as good as dead.

[LostLocke]

Sometimes I say nothing, but usually I say "Bless you". Nothing more than force of habit that I've been doing so long I don't even think about it.

If it's someone I know, and it was a particularly loud sneeze, I might instead dive to the ground and yell "Incoming!"

[Strongbad]

Ahhh…one of my pet peeves – the good old “Bless You!!” for a sneeze. If the idiot xtians that went around “blessing” people that sneezed actually knew how that superstition started, they (probably would still do it but at least they) would know how stupid it is. Back in “biblical times”, the dumb fucks believed that when you sneezed, your “soul” was momentarily expelled from your body, and “blessing” someone prevented a “demon” from entering the body while the soul was out. Since they don’t know what it means, modern xtian fuckwits think it is just a “polite” and “caring” thing to do.

Here in the deep south of the US (central Florida), you are not only expected to say “bless you” whenever someone sneezes, you are also expected to say “thank you” when some halfwit “blesses” you when you sneeze. Me, I say nothing in either event. People sneeze every fucking day; it doesn't mean they are sick.