'', 1894, the second oldest surviving motion picture with a
copyright. In
ancient Greece, sneezes were believed to be prophetic signs from the gods. For example, in 401 BC, when the Athenian general
Xenophon gave a speech exhorting his fellow soldiers to fight against the Persians, a soldier underscored his conclusion with a sneeze. Thinking that this sneeze was a favorable sign from the gods, the soldiers were impressed. Another example occurs in the story of
Odysseus. His wife
Penelope, upon hearing that Odysseus may still be alive, said that he and his son would take revenge on the suitors if he were to return. At that moment, their son sneezed loudly, which assured Penelope that it was a sign from the gods (
Odyssey 17: 541–550). It may be because this belief survived through the centuries, that in certain parts of Greece today, when someone is asserting something and the listener sneezes promptly at the end of the assertion, the former responds "bless you and I am speaking the truth", or "bless you and here is the truth" ("",
ya sou ki alithia leo, or "",
ya sou ke na ki i alithia). A similar practice is also followed in India. If either the person just having made a not most obvious statement in
Flemish, or some listener sneezes, often one of the listeners will say "'t is beniesd", literally "It's sneezed upon", as if a proof of truth – usually self-ironically recalling this old superstitious habit, without either suggesting doubt or intending an actual confirmation, but making any apology by the sneezer for the interruption superfluous as the remark is received by smiles. In Europe, principally around the early Middle Ages, it was believed that one's life was in fact tied to one's
breath – a belief reflected in the word "expire" (originally meaning "to exhale") gaining the additional meaning of "to come to an end" or "to die". This connection, coupled with the significant amount of breath expelled from the body during a sneeze, had likely led people to believe that sneezing could easily be fatal. Such a theory could explain the reasoning behind the traditional English phrase, "God bless you", in
response to a sneeze, the origins of which are not entirely clear. Sir
Raymond Henry Payne Crawfurd, for instance, the registrar of the
Royal College of Physicians, in his 1909 book, "The Last Days of
Charles II", states that, when the controversial monarch was on his deathbed, his medical attendants administered a concoction of
cowslips and extract of
ammonia to promote sneezing. However, it is not known if this promotion of sneezing was done to hasten his death (as
coup de grâce) or as an ultimate attempt at treatment. In certain parts of
East Asia, particularly in
Chinese culture,
Korean culture,
Japanese culture and
Vietnamese culture, a sneeze without an obvious cause was generally perceived as a sign that someone was talking about the sneezer at that very moment. This can be seen in the
Book of Songs (a collection of Chinese poems) in ancient China as early as 1000 BC, and in Japan this belief is still depicted in present-day
manga and
anime. In
China,
Vietnam,
South Korea, and
Japan, for instance, there is a
superstition that if talking behind someone's back causes the person being talked about to sneeze; as such, the sneezer can tell if something good is being said (one sneeze), someone is thinking about you (two sneezes in a row), even if someone is in love with you (three sneezes in a row) or if this is a sign that they are about to catch a
cold (multiple sneezes). Parallel beliefs are known to exist around the world, particularly in contemporary Greek, Slavic, Celtic, English, French, and Indian cultures. Similarly, in
Nepal, sneezers are believed to be remembered by someone at that particular moment. In English, the onomatopoeia for sneezes is usually spelled 'achoo' and it is similar to that of different cultures. In
Indian culture, especially in
northern parts of India, Bengali (Bangladesh and Bengal of India) culture and also in
Iran, it has been a common superstition that a sneeze taking place before the start of any work was a sign of impending bad interruption. It was thus customary to pause in order to drink water or break any work rhythm before resuming the job at hand in order to prevent any misfortune from occurring. In
Polish culture, especially in the
Kresy Wschodnie borderlands, a popular belief persists that sneezes may be an inauspicious sign that, depending on the local version, either someone unspecified or one's mother-in-law speaks ill of the person sneezing at that moment. In other regions, however, this superstition concerns
hiccups rather than sneezing. As with other
Catholic countries, such as Mexico, Italy, or Ireland, the remnants of pagan culture are fostered in Polish peasant idiosyncratic superstitions. The practice among
Islamic culture, in turn, has largely been based on various prophetic traditions and the teachings of
Muhammad. An example of this is
Al-Bukhaari's narrations from
Abu Hurayrah that Muhammad once said:
When one of you sneezes, let him say, "Al-hamdu-Lillah" (Praise be to God)
, and let his brother or companion say to him, "Yarhamuk Allah" (May God have mercy on you)
. If he says, "Yarhamuk-Allah", then let [the sneezer] say, "Yahdeekum Allah wa yuslihu baalakum" (May God guide you and rectify your condition)
. Verbal responses In English-speaking countries, one common verbal response to another person's sneeze is "God bless you|[May God] bless you". Even with "
God", the declaration may be said by a person without religious intent. Another, less common, verbal response in the United States and Canada to another's sneeze is "
Gesundheit", which is a German word that means, appropriately, 'health', and is also a traditional German verbal response to a nearby person sneezing. Several hypotheses exist for why the custom arose of saying "bless you" or "God bless you" in the context of sneezing: • Some say it came into use during the
plague pandemics of the 14th century. Blessing the individual after showing such a symptom was thought to prevent possible impending death due to the lethal disease. • In Renaissance times, a superstition was formed claiming one's heart stopped for a very brief moment during the sneeze; saying bless you was a sign of prayer that the heart would not fail. ==Sexuality==