This is a fascinating exploration by a New Hampshire public health group. Their only known function is to teach people how to properly sneeze.
(Yup. We were skeptical at first. But we did our research, and it is for real.)
The sneeze is a proven agent of disease dissemination.
Health risk resides in those aerosol droplets. Microscopic particles of infected mucous are spewed at rates of 650 mph or roughly 85% the speed of sound. The crux of this tutorial is to contain those droplets. The most efficient and hygienic method is to sneeze into your sleeve. Honest. Sneezing directly into the air or into your hands is suboptimal.
By the by, did you ever sneeze, eyes open? Probably not. The sneeze reflex contracts many of our bodies muscles, most obvious, our eyes.
And, did you ever wonder why people say 'God bless you'? During the Middle Ages, it was widely believed that a sneeze could be fatal due to it's close association with the Plague. Other accounts say it was believed a person was temporarily in purgatory during a sneeze. The blessing was made to save them from damnation.
