# What about saying, "God bless You" after a sneeze?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [April 20, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671 "2009-04-20T00:10:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/1 "2009-04-20T00:10:24Z")
Okay, since we’ve jumped on each other in the [taking the lord’s name in vain thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=514624), :rolleyes: how about a sneeze?
I never say, “God bless you” when someone sneezes or say “Gesundheit.”
IMHO, it’s silly. What’re your thoughts on this one?
A cute story (maybe) was one I heard at a taping of the Craig Ferguson show. Carl Reiner was a guest and he told a story about his wife (they’ve been married for over 60 years!)
who says “God bless you” when someone sneezes AND farts. She claims it’s just like a sneeze, it has to come out, but not on purpose.
Later in the show (during a break) an assistant brought Craig a water and he made a face, stopped the guy who brought him the water and said, “And God bless you.”, as if the guy farted. Funny!
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/2 "2009-04-20T00:13:15Z")
I say it, it’s mannerly and it doesn’t cost me a thing.
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/3 "2009-04-20T00:17:26Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> I say it, it’s mannerly and it doesn’t cost me a thing.
Hmmm… maybe this should be a debate. I don’t see it as mannerly. It’s an old custom, but why does it happen to begin with? Allergies, pollen, what have you, enter my sinus cavities, I sneeze (a bodily function)… why “God Bless you”?
Wouldn’t something like, “You wanna tissue?” be more productive? Usually, I need a tissue after I sneeze, instead, I’ve got snot on me, but I’m blessed!
To me it’s like if you hiccup, people say, “Flowers are blooming!” It makes about as much sense to say “God bless you” after a sneeze.
Whew. Good thing no one says anything after a hiccup. Murders would ensue. “Hic!” “Flowers are blooming!” “Hic!” “Flowers are bloomi–” Whack! 🙂
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/4 "2009-04-20T00:20:24Z")
It’s mannerly. The fact that you might think it’s silly is irrelevant - it’s what the other person thinks. Sort of like “cool”. I might think I’m cool, but if nobody else does, I’m not. 😉
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### Author:  [@TheScogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheScogg)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/5 "2009-04-20T00:20:28Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> I say it, it’s mannerly and it doesn’t cost me a thing.
Ditto
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/6 "2009-04-20T00:23:44Z")
> [@JohnT](#):
>
> It’s mannerly. The fact that you might think it’s silly is irrelevant - it’s what the other person thinks. Sorat of like “cool”. I might think I’m cool, but if nobody else does, I’m not. 😉
The other person would make a friend if he offered me a tissue instead.
Then let’s say, “Cool” instead. Sneezes are kind of cool! There’s always a University of Google grad who might say, “Dude, your heart stopped!” Well, at least they try.
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### Author:  [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/7 "2009-04-20T00:29:30Z")
It’s just the polite thing to do. I say Gesundheit.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/8 "2009-04-20T01:00:40Z")
Out of curiousity, what is the direct translation of Gesundheit?
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/9 "2009-04-20T01:03:43Z")
I’m with the OP. Saying anything is perpetuating a silly superstition. Saying “God bless you” is perpetuating two superstitions.
Count me out of that. I offer a tissue. It’s the polite (and rational) thing to do.
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/10 "2009-04-20T01:03:45Z")
> [@dangermom](#):
>
> It’s just the polite thing to do. I say Gesundheit.
Okay, agreed. It is the polite thing to do, but why is it “god bless you”? Why not, “Cold be gone!” Or even, “sakes alive!”? I just don’t get what a bless from god has to do with one bodily function.
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### Author:  [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/11 "2009-04-20T01:15:14Z")
Well, since no one actually thinks that anything bad will happen if no one says it, it’s just long-entrenched custom that makes it polite. It’s really just an acknowledgment of the sneezer’s presence and humanity, I guess. Like “How are you?” or “How do you do?” – the real translation is “you’re there, and I’m here, and we have good will and respect toward each other.”
Oh. I totally failed to answer the question. I don’t know, the UL says something about a medieval belief about bad spirits gaining entry to your body, but I don’t know if that’s true or the equivalent of the ring-around-the-rosy story.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/12 "2009-04-20T01:21:57Z")
Why not just “Bless you”?
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/13 "2009-04-20T01:23:45Z")
That’s still perpetuating two myths, Guin: one that there is such a thing as “blessings”, the other that the other person actually exists. 😉
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/14 "2009-04-20T01:25:11Z")
> [@Locrian](#):
>
> Okay, agreed. It is the polite thing to do, but why is it “god bless you”? Why not, “Cold be gone!” Or even, “sakes alive!”? I just don’t get what a bless from god has to do with one bodily function.
[The Master Speaks [edit: through a mouthpiece].](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1958/why-do-we-say-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze)
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/15 "2009-04-20T01:35:25Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> Why not just “Bless you”?
Why bless anything about it though? “You just lost germs, you fool! Bless you for losing them!”
I still like the tissue thing. We all do that, carry tissues at all times, then invest in Kleenex…
Nah.
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### Author:  [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/16 "2009-04-20T01:40:41Z")
I’d sooner avoid saying ‘god bless you’–it’s awfully silly for me to be invoking a deity I don’t believe in. I’ll sometimes say gesundheit, but I think it’s quite odd that anything is expected to be said. More typically, I’ll generally say “excuse me” after I sneeze–it makes more sense that I should beg pardon for it than that anyone else should be blessing me over it.
It **does** annoy me when people insist on saying it _every single time_ I sneeze during allergy season. Considering that I’ll have not-infrequent sneezing fits if I’m not taking medication, one GBY per day is perfectly sufficient to discharge your duties so far as I’m concerned.
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/17 "2009-04-20T01:41:37Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#):
>
> [The Master Speaks [edit: through a mouthpiece].](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1958/why-do-we-say-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze)
Ha! I remember this one. I shouldve asked why we _still_ say it.
And whenever someone tells me that my heart stopped-- as an avid iPhone carrier–
I search for Cece’s article you showed. Now, I’m bookmarking it. 🙂
Now, I won’t say it after a sneeze, and I don’t thank someone when they say it to me.
Am I evil? Am I rude? Remember, I always do the tissue offer instead.
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### Author:  [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/18 "2009-04-20T01:44:10Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#):
>
> Out of curiousity, what is the direct translation of Gesundheit?
It’s the German word for health.
I always say bless you because it’s polite. It’s about etiquette, not practicality. People do it, because other people think it’s polite.
If you want to show your self worth and rejection of the system’s chains on your rugged individuality by not saying bless you or refusing watching your mouth when a parent politely asks you not to talk like a ghetto hood rat in front of her kids, knock yourself out. Some of us like to approach life with a bit more grace and tact.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/19 "2009-04-20T01:44:31Z")
We still say it for the same reason we still say “goodbye,” even if we’re atheists: it’s idiomatic.
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2009, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-about-saying-god-bless-you-after-a-sneeze/493671/20 "2009-04-20T01:52:07Z")
> [@Linty\_Fresh](#):
>
> People do it, because other people think it’s polite.
(Parental voice) And if other people thought it was polite to play in traffic or jump off a bridge…
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