Picking Your Brain...

[Esquilax]

What do atheist's tell each other when they sneeze?

My favorite thing to do is act completely shocked and frightened, and pretend I've never seen a person do that before. Freaks people out every time.

That, or I just laugh. See, my dog is genuinely scared of sneezes, so whenever anyone does one in his presence he gets up and fast-walks out of the room, and it's hilarious.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

sorry but not impressed, try love

I don't think you're my type.

[Cato]

Maybe habit and it appears to be considerate and polite.

I agree that this is perhaps the most prevalent reason for the practce; however, I think this is ass backward. Sneezes are typically intrusive in that they intereupt conversation and increase the risk of spreading germs. If being polite is what's most important, the person sneezing should be polite, say excuse me and attempt to make ammends if uncovered.

[Losty]

I usually go with "cover your face, asshole" regardless if whether or not they're atheist...

I go with the slightly more subtle "Damn dude! Need a tissue?"

Lol. I don't actually swear much outside of Internet forums and I wouldn't actually say that to anyone. I usually just ask the person if they're alright. And I will even say bless you sometimes out of habit. My youngest thinks sneezes are the funniest thing in the world. If you sneeze near her she will point and laugh.

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Maybe habit and it appears to be considerate and polite.

I agree that this is perhaps the most prevalent reason for the practce; however, I think this is ass backward. Sneezes are typically intrusive in that they intereupt conversation and increase the risk of spreading germs. If being polite is what's most important, the person sneezing should be polite and attempt to make ammends if uncovered.

Why would there ever be an uncovered sneeze?? That's nasty!

[ignoramus]

If you sneeze near her she will point and laugh.

He he ...she better not pull my finger then!
She'll die in a hysteric fit!

[Revelation777]

Op to which god do you refer? There are just so many and they all claim to be the true God, yet they all contradict each other so much that I can not help but find that skepticism is my natural position to all of their claims.

The one true God, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac.

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Just a little break from the other treads. Not to stereotype but you atheists are brilliant and intelligent in once sense but seemingly blinded, ignorant, and clueless to God's Truth. Nevertheless, I have a question to ask that has more to do with Science and Nature than anything else...

If a person, let's say lived in Antarctica, and never ever had contact with another human being, would it be possible for he/she to ever contract a cold?

Yes. If they were exposed to the appropriate virus through a non human vector. Unlikely, but possible.

Why?

Just was wondering

[Esquilax]

Op to which god do you refer? There are just so many and they all claim to be the true God, yet they all contradict each other so much that I can not help but find that skepticism is my natural position to all of their claims.

The one true God, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac.

Allah?

[Ben Davis]

...would it be possible for he/she to ever contract a cold?

Yes. Direct human contact isn't the only way that viruses spread. I think Esqui, Stimbo and Jacob have covered this off nicely.

What do atheist's tell each other when they sneeze?

I don't know about 'atheists'. I know that some people say 'Bless you' as a result of cultural indoctrination, irrespective of religious beliefs. Others use different cultural references (like 'Gesundheit!'). I don't say a thing: If they covered up, I wait for the sneezer to say 'Excuse me' then I say 'No problem'; if they didn't, I say 'For fuck's sake, stop spreading your germs'.

It was once believed one's soul could escape from sneezing

Not true. This is a clever and recent (~1950's I understand) cover-up by religious apologists looking to escape the real reason: the belief that disease/illness is caused by 'demonic influence/possession'. Since Germ and Disease theories became so well developed and debunked religious claims so thoroughly, apologists decided to take a light-hearted approach to cleaning the egg off their faces. Of course, all they really achieved was to make light of the deaths of millions of people, people who died as a direct result of the 'Demonic' theory of disease.

[vorlon13]

What do atheist's tell each other when they sneeze?

My favorite thing to do is act completely shocked and frightened, and pretend I've never seen a person do that before. Freaks people out every time.

I do that to our cat, it is hysterical. The sudden intense scrutiny, shock, and alarm freaks him out totally.

[Cyberman]

Or "God's Truth" makes you blind, ignorant and clueless.

huh? that's your opinion which I heartily disagree

Of course you do. That's why you're a theist and I'm not. Anyway, it wasn't an opinion; merely a suggestion.