WHY

giggsy664 wrote: »

I thought it was to do with when you sneeze, the devil can get into you through your nose, so bless you is a safeguard

LOL thats a mad one! :pac:

What happens in that case if you have diarrhoea and the exit is always open?

square_igloo wrote: »

Ugh, that really annoys me too. I'm standing there waiting for it and then.....nothing.

btw is it true that you can't sneeze with your eyes open? I could Google/Wikipedia it myself, but it's easier if I just let someone here tell me. :pac:

Some experts guess that we’ve evolved closing eyes to reduce sneeze spray landing in our eyes. However, our eyes are exposed constantly to bacteria and viruses and have good defenses without eye closing.

Closing eyes (or keeping them open) is part of the sneeze reflex. It’s a reflex—meaning we have no conscious control of sneezes. Instead, the primitive part of the brain (called the medulla oblongata and located at the top of the spine) calls the shots. The reflex triggers major muscles of face, throat, and chest to fire out gunk going at 100 mph (150 kph) as fast as a pitcher’s fastball.

Most people tighten the eye muscles, causing them to shut, as they tighten the other muscles involved in a sneeze. But not all do. Some sneeze with their eyes open. Either way, it’s part of the inborn sneeze reflex.

In 1888, Thomas Edison hit upon the idea of movies from looking at sequential pictures of someone sneezing because they would pop out.
While it is rare, there are some people who do not close their eyes when they sneeze.

No one knows exactly why most of us close our eyes. My guess is that we do it to protect our eyeball while our head is jerking because of the sneeze. I heard that when you sneeze, alot of pressure is building up behind our eyes. In that case our eyes would pop out, so our body closes the eyelids to prevent that from happening. There is a reflex that normally forces people to close their eyes when they sneeze. This reflex comes from the medulla oblongata in the brain stem. The reflex may help to keep micro-organisms out of your eyes when you sneeze but may simply be part of the contraction of muscles involved in sneezing. Someone gave a response to a similar question on a site that it might keep dust out of the eyes. Its just a reflex your body does when you sneeze. Our eyes are very sensitive to noise, light and projecting objects. The brain automatically sends message to the nervous system to protect eyes. They would fall out or might!

Yikes!!!

m@cc@ wrote: »

Slightly off-topic but did you know, that there is no conclusive theory about why we yawn.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/yawn.html

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/yawning.html

http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science/straight-talking/item/yawn_yawning_contagious_boredom_amazing

galwayrush wrote: »

while we're slightly off topic, what about belly button fluff.?
I know why it gets it's colour, but what attracts it to the belly button?

Its hiding there 'cos it don't want to get sucked in by a yawn or blown away by a sneeze!

gino85 wrote: »

sneezing while having a piss hurts badly

Done that, I banged my head against the public toilet wall. Honestly.

Talk about me being a dippy twat or what!

gerky wrote: »

The hair on the stomach generally grows in the direction of the belly button so when we move about bits of fluff of the clothes we have on slowly make their way in to the belly button, generally the hairier the belly the fluffier the button.

Also the belly button tends to be a haven for bacteria.

That explain the nose too to a certain extent?

m@cc@ wrote: »

Were you agreeing or just taking a browse and the posting links? All of them concur.

Just showing that there is some sort of mutual same direction thinking and backing it up with links.
(I do reserve the right to be wrong and continue to be the plonker that I am!)

galwayrush wrote: »

That reminds me, one of my toe nails has gone all mutant.

Ewe yuch, thanks!

You mean like Niomi Campbell's feet? Double yuck!