Why do we sneeze?
Posted on 25th April 2018 at 07:30
It’s been a while since one of those – not as easy to answer as you’d think – questions (!), which the younger members of the family love to ask us. And, with this time of year also marking the start of the Hayfever season, it seemed like the perfect time to write about it.
So what are we talking about this week? Sneezing. Or, if you’d like to get technical, sternutation which comes from the Latin word “sternuo” meaning to “sneeze, splutter or crackle.”
While the sound may be the same, different nationalities have very different ways of describing a sneeze. In the UK and America it’s “achoo”; in France it’s “atchoum”; “Hakashun” in Japan and “Ha-ching” in the Philippines.