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Monday, February 26, 2007
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Hachoo!

When other people sneeze around me at work, I'm pretty good at saying something like "God bless you" or "Gesundheit".  As a small aside, it seems to be a common misconception that Gesundheit is German for "God bless you".  This is not true.  It literally translates to "health".  So when you say Gesundheit to someone after they sneeze, you're wishing them good health.

Anyway... back to the topic at hand.  After I sneeze, you could hear crickets.  Nothing.  No "God bless you".  No "Gesundheit", not even a "You're so good looking."  What gives?  It's almost enough to make a nice person like me stop saying it to other people.

# Posted at 8:59 AM by Nick  |  Comment Feed Link 4 Comments  |  No Trackbacks

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Monday, February 26, 2007 9:50:09 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
Can't be. Gesu is the root for Jesus!
Monday, February 26, 2007 9:55:32 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
Huh... that's true. But if you go to Google Translate, it confirms my original translation.
Monday, February 26, 2007 1:03:07 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
I would translate Gesundheit as "healthiness" based on the
heit on the end of it. The Slavic tradition (Na zdrovya) and
the Spanish (Salud) also reference health. Sort of odd that
English doesn't.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 9:38:14 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
That's because the English "God Bless You" is rooted in superstition whereas the others are more practical.

By the way, Nick, do you know the three-sneeze-rule? After three sneezes, you're allowed to go home. Look it up. It's in a book...somewhere.
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