# How common is "gesundheit"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-gesundheit/490690>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-gesundheit/490690 "2009-03-25T01:37:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-gesundheit/490690/61 "2009-03-27T02:49:19Z")

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> [@rocking\_chair](#):
>
> gesundheit is funnier punchline than bless you. a mumbles something, b responds in german, big laugh. a mumbles something, b responds in english, little laugh.

Only if people know what gesundheit means. Clearly, not everyone does.

The ‘joke’ depends on the word supposedly sounding like a sneeze, so it doesn’t matter whether the response is bless you, gesundheit or any other well-known term used after someone sneezes. I don’t think any of the example on that page llustrated characters _really_ thinking that the other character had sneezed. It’s a crap joke, but not quite as crap as that article seems to think.

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**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-common-is-gesundheit/490690/62 "2009-03-27T05:24:28Z")

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And for all of you Patch Adams fans: [Patch Adams - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesundheit_Institute)

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