SHANNA said:

I died laughing too because my dad's sneeze is exactly like that too. It scares everyone.

I have a dainty sneeze.

AnckSuNamun said:

Me too...it's muffled by a handkerchief. I always have one at hand.

That's 'cause you're sneezing in Thai.

I sneeze.....AAAAA...chueeee!


M

SnakePeel said:

No we're not!

Waspy...

Your Style of Sneezing Can Tell a Lot about You

By AMY HOTZ
New York Times Regional Newspapers


Cold and flu season is here, you're curled up on the couch watching daytime TV with a box of Kleenex by your side . . . pause a moment to reflect on the sneeze. Sure it's a nuisance right up there on the "gross meter" of bodily functions, but it's also an amazing part of being a human. Anyone pondering the sneeze will realize there are many different types -perhaps you're a machine gun multi-sneezer, your Uncle Fred sounds like a trumpet and your big sister barely makes a coquettish squeak.

It's likely you have someone in your family to blame for your sneeze style.

"Our sneezing patterns are not learned from our environment. I think the way we sneeze is innate," said Dr. Frederic Little, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine at Boston University.

Little said sneezes have some inherited patterns, so rest assured that you're not the only one in your family tree who spits them out in staccato bursts.

One type of sneeze is known to be completely hereditary. It's called the photic sneeze and it's triggered by sudden sunlight. Little said this type of reaction is found in quite a few people. About 20 percent of Swedes, for example, are photic sneezers, he said.

"It's inherited like brown eye coloring. It's not related to gender," he said.

Perhaps sunlight and multisneezing can be attributed to genes. But if you, or someone you know, is unusually boisterous in those nose exhalations, they can probably be toned down a bit.

WHICH TYPE OF SNEEZER ARE YOU?

Source: "Shooting the Breeze About Sneezing" by Patti A. Wood, a body language expert and Benadryl spokeswoman:

Trumpet Sneeze -- These people expel air almost completely through their mouths with a loud, "OOOH."

Internal Sneeze -- Nothing really comes out except an odd "ump" noise. It's a wonder their eardrums don't explode.

Big Bad Wolf Sneeze -- They huff and puff before sneezing, as if they could blow the whole house down.

The Tease -- They capture our attention and may rivet an entire room in place as they go "aahhh ahhhh," with only a tiny little anticlimactic "achoo" at the end.

Freeze Tag -- The sneezer's whole face and body freeze, perhaps for several seconds, as the sneeze builds up internally. It suddenly explodes out, animating the entire person.

Hand as Handkerchief -These sneezers let it go right into their hand. This is really annoying if they then offer their hand for a handshake.

The Coughing Sneeze -- This is a series of coughlike sounding sneezes close together without a breath.

The Shout-it-Out Sneeze -This manly sneeze is so loud it can be heard in the next state.

Cartoon Sneeze -- This sounds like a little kid sneezing. Also known as the dainty sneeze.

The How High Can You Count? Sneeze -- The sneezer that keeps sneezing one right after the other until he begins to look like Count von Count from "Sesame Street."

Spray Gun -- This sneezer makes you wish you were carrying an umbrella and wearing a raincoat.

SNEEZE: A DEFINITION

So, what exactly is a sneeze? According to the American Academy of Neurology, sneezing is a reflex designed to protect the respiratory system.

A ticklish feeling in the nose starts a reaction that activates the nerves that make you sneeze. It's basically a really fast exhalation through the nose and mouth designed to eject offending alien objects, such as pollen or a tiny bug.

DID YOU KNOW?

• A sneeze can throw water droplets six feet into the air at speeds of up to 100 mph. One sneeze can propel 100,000 bacteria into the air.

• Tibetan Buddhists believe a sneeze -- like meditation or falling asleep -- can provide a moment of clear consciousness when people are opened to greater understanding.

• Scaly and sneezy: Iguanas sneeze to rid their bodies of salts produced by their digestive process. They may sneeze more than any other animal.

• Sneezy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was originally to have been called Deafy, until someone, long before the days of political correctness, spotted the unconscious slur, writes Michael Barrier in "Hollywood Cartoons."

• The longest sneezing bout ever recorded was by 2-year-old Donna Griffiths of Worcestershire in the United Kingdom. She started sneezing on Jan. 13, 1981, sneezed an estimated 1 million times in the first 365 days, and achieved her first sneeze-free day on Sept. 16, 1983 -- the 978th day.

At first, she sneezed every minute. Toward the end, she slowed down to one every five minutes.

Well-wishers inundated her with handkerchiefs and letters suggesting different cures.

• Some people who suffer strokes affecting the medulla part of the brain lose their ability to sneeze, even though the urge to sneeze and the ability to mimic the action remains. According to a study published by the American Association of Neurology, the sneeze "build-up" was not affected, only the completion of the sneeze. The stroke victims researched recovered their ability to sneeze within six months.

• About one out of three people sneeze when initially exposed to bright sunlight. Researchers have dubbed these folks "photics" and believe it is an inherited trait.

• One of Thomas Edison's first moving pictures was not-so-creatively called "Fred Ott's Sneeze." It was filmed in 1894 with his invention, the kinetoscope, and showed a man -- Fred Ott, no less -- sneezing.

According to a Benadryl survey of 547 people:

• About 45 percent said they sneeze differently in public than by themselves.

• When asked what best describes what is going through their mind when sneezing, 47 percent responded, "I hope I don't bother anyone."

• 32 percent of women hold in their sneeze

• 26 percent of women are multiple sneezers, compared to 27 percent of men

• 46 percent of men say they are "big sneezers"

maybe if i sneeze hard enough.....

i have a very loud ass sneeze

my friend always says it sounds like im stepping on smurfs

and i ususally do 3 in a row and when i only do 2 he goes " oops u forgot to kill lil smurfette over there"

sweet said:

I do one.. or like 50.. but they are all squeaky quiet funny ones and ppl just laugh..

i used to make myself sneeze while falling asleep with a nylon string from my stuffed animal

The absolute beginning of James Brown's "I Feel Good."

IAintTheOne said:

It really does, dayum it used to kill me laughing

I think I sneeze kinda normal like, but Mini's really scared of sneezes, when you go "aaaahhhh" drawing in air before the sneeze he bolts from wherever he's sleeping and runs off, poor thing...

ThreadBare said:

funkiest. sneeze. ever.

Loud and then I bray like a horse at the conclusion.

SammiJ said:

a MOUSE couldn't hear U sneeze...u NEVER cough either!...that's unhealthy!...lol...

I try to make mine silent, but usually they come out kind of like a small "ughmp."

Awesome thread, Imago.

I have a regular old ah chuuuu or a silent sneeze

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Thanks.