Eli5: Why do we say “achoo” when we sneeze?
In: Biology
Do you mean why do we say “achoo” specifically or why do we say anything at all?
The reason why we sneeze most of the time is because we have something in your nose that’s not supposed to be there, and the sudden air flow is meant to remove it.
The “achoo” part is cultural, like “ouch” is when you are hurt. In different cultures people make different sounds when they sneeze. It might be hard to imagine, “achoo” just sounds so natural. It’s what you’ve heard your parents and your peers say when they sneeze, and it’s what you say.
But in another country and another language people might say the same thing about “haptsee”.
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