Sneezing and Driving Don't Mix

"Sneezing," I said, having just sneezed, "is dangerous." I adjusted the rear view mirror so I could talk with her directly. "Remember we read that it's impossible to sneeze without closing your eyes?"

She nodded.

"That makes sneezing a hazardous activity to do while driving."

"Not for a person with no eyelids," she said.

Ah, good point. Good point indeed.

11 comments:

Mary Witzl said...

Remind me not to sneeze when I drive.

There was a legendary Zen priest much loved in Japan who got so upset with himself for falling asleep while trying to achieve satori that he cut off his own eyelids.

Now that was a determined man. I think I'd try and find another way to reach satori.

Charles Gramlich said...

Here is my sneeze story. Not long after I'd gotten my motorcycle I was out riding. It was cold and I had on a full face helmet with the face guard down. I sneeezed inside the helmet, going sixty down the highway, and immediately the inside totally fogged over so I was completely blind. I was slapping at the helmet with a "gloved" hand to get the shield up but it took a moment with the clumsy gloves on. This was a lesson that I never forgot.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Hee hee! such a clever girl!

Nikki said...

Fun blog. Very fun. Glad I stumbled across it.

Anonymous said...

Hah! She's definitely got a point there. Those eyelidless people will never know the hazards we with eyelids face when driving.

I once heard every time you sneeze, your heart stops. Every time I sneeze, I think of that.

Danette Haworth said...

Mary,
Horrible! Besides, sleep can lead to satori.

Charles,
That sounds so dangerous; how does a motorcycle rider get around that issue? No gloves?

Ello,
Thank you. She liked reading that!

Thank you, Nikki and sometime daniel!

Courtney,
The dangers of sneezing never stop!

Cate Gardner said...

LOL! I read somewhere or someone (probably not very reliable) once told me that when you sneeze your heart stops.

Charles Gramlich said...

I learned to slap up the face shield at the first tiny sign of a possible impending sneeze.

Danette Haworth said...

Cate-
I think you're right! We seem to be getting a consensus on that.

Charles,
God Bless in advance!

elysabeth said...

Here's another one - when I was in college, attending a "christian college", during one of our gatherings in the chapel, someone was trying to repress a sneeze and someone got up and read an article about not doing that. The article said that the force of a repressed sneeze could actually cause you to fracture your own rib - not a pleasant thought because then every time you would sneeze, you would be in pain.

So don't hold the sneezes back, don't worry about the heart stopping for only a blip of a second during a sneeze and always say Bless you when someone sneezes. - E :)

Christy said...

I love that! Children are so good at finding the exception.