4 ms·

And what about saying "bless you?" People sure have superstitious hangups about sneezing. And I don't mind, it doesn't hurt anything, until I get a sarcastic "y

And what about saying "bless you?" People sure have superstitious hangups about sneezing. And I don't mind, it doesn't hurt anything, until I get a sarcastic "you're welcome" from people for not thanking them for blessing me. I seriously don't get that. When did saying "bless you" require an official display of gratitude? I didn't ask for anything and would just like to sneeze in peace, please.

Toast_25 9y ago
I've never personally seen it as something religious, just being nice and in my country it's considered being well-mannered. That being said in my country we don't say "bless you", a literal translation to what we say would be "health". When I visit other countries it feels weird that nobody says anything when people sneeze. But I realize that's a cultural thing and try to avoid saying "Bless you".
gumby 9y ago
Thank the sneezer instead. If they wonder why you thanked them you can thank them for the aerosol of bacteria and crud they sent your way. In east Asia it's customary for sick people to wear masks to avoid spreading disease via coughing or sneezing. A practice that ought to be adopted everywhere. I know I'm promoting a passive-aggressive strategy which is also social corrosive, but it's a way of spreading (!) the meme. And don't say "Gesundheit" because you think "bless you" is religious -- saying Gesundheit is simply non-denominationally superstitious.
- gertef 9y ago
  "Gesundheit" means "health". Sneezing is an indicator of health risk. It's a tradition, not a superstition.
- collyw 9y ago
  "In east Asia it's customary for sick people to wear masks to avoid spreading disease via coughing or sneezing. A practice that ought to be adopted everywhere." Toughen up people! We don't eat food off the floor because it would probably give us a bad stomach. Eating "hygienically" is a practice that we have adopted. Dogs eat stuff off the floor all the time. Have they evolved a more advanced immune system than ours? Or just kept it well trained?
  - gumby 9y ago
    Dogs adopt the strategy of "eat first, ask questions later" (as pack animals that eat garbage, carrion etc). So they are quick to vomit up something that causes trouble. Also they are more likely than humans to eat stuff that will kill them. As for their immune system, inbreeding of dogs has caused all sorts of susceptibilities, though overall humans are a better vector for disease (density, widespread distribution, gregariousness, etc). Also humans worry about disease symptoms that dogs and other animals stoically ignore and thus the disease can go unnoticed by the human. (e.g. a bit of diarrhoea dribbling uncontrollably out your backside will probably concern you but a dog will just put up with it -- though an owner will likely object!) .
trhway 9y ago
>And what about saying "bless you?" correct answer to that is "not in your lifetime" (from the joke about a very old very rich grandpa who sneezes and his relatives :)
kingkawn 9y ago
I think you are too comfortable casually dismissing a cultural behavior that has existed across different forms for millenia. Perhaps there are interpersonal, cultural, body-language, psychological, and other ways that this behavior is important to us, and your certainty at its unimportance seems out-of-proportion to its continued prevalence and an over-estimation of the quality of the possible completeness of your analysis.

Toast_25 9y ago

I've never personally seen it as something religious, just being nice and in my country it's considered being well-mannered. That being said in my country we don't say "bless you", a literal translation to what we say would be "health". When I visit other countries it feels weird that nobody says anything when people sneeze. But I realize that's a cultural thing and try to avoid saying "Bless you".

gumby 9y ago

Thank the sneezer instead. If they wonder why you thanked them you can thank them for the aerosol of bacteria and crud they sent your way. In east Asia it's customary for sick people to wear masks to avoid spreading disease via coughing or sneezing. A practice that ought to be adopted everywhere. I know I'm promoting a passive-aggressive strategy which is also social corrosive, but it's a way of spreading (!) the meme. And don't say "Gesundheit" because you think "bless you" is religious -- saying Gesundheit is simply non-denominationally superstitious.

gertef 9y ago
"Gesundheit" means "health". Sneezing is an indicator of health risk. It's a tradition, not a superstition.
collyw 9y ago
"In east Asia it's customary for sick people to wear masks to avoid spreading disease via coughing or sneezing. A practice that ought to be adopted everywhere." Toughen up people! We don't eat food off the floor because it would probably give us a bad stomach. Eating "hygienically" is a practice that we have adopted. Dogs eat stuff off the floor all the time. Have they evolved a more advanced immune system than ours? Or just kept it well trained?
- gumby 9y ago
  Dogs adopt the strategy of "eat first, ask questions later" (as pack animals that eat garbage, carrion etc). So they are quick to vomit up something that causes trouble. Also they are more likely than humans to eat stuff that will kill them. As for their immune system, inbreeding of dogs has caused all sorts of susceptibilities, though overall humans are a better vector for disease (density, widespread distribution, gregariousness, etc). Also humans worry about disease symptoms that dogs and other animals stoically ignore and thus the disease can go unnoticed by the human. (e.g. a bit of diarrhoea dribbling uncontrollably out your backside will probably concern you but a dog will just put up with it -- though an owner will likely object!) .

trhway 9y ago

>And what about saying "bless you?" correct answer to that is "not in your lifetime" (from the joke about a very old very rich grandpa who sneezes and his relatives :)

kingkawn 9y ago

I think you are too comfortable casually dismissing a cultural behavior that has existed across different forms for millenia. Perhaps there are interpersonal, cultural, body-language, psychological, and other ways that this behavior is important to us, and your certainty at its unimportance seems out-of-proportion to its continued prevalence and an over-estimation of the quality of the possible completeness of your analysis.