The Big Sneeze

We were working on reading some s-blends in some of my classes this week (stop, skip, skate, snow, etc.) and then serendipitously (I believe that's the first time I've ever used that word), my fellow teacher Tanja showed me this classic Electric Company clip.

Yep, that's Morgan Freeman way before he became, well, MORGAN FREEMAN.  For any readers outside of the U.S. who may be unfamiliar with The Electric Company, it was a very, very cool educational program that ran on American Public Television in the 1970s.  Mr. Freeman was a regular cast member on the show.

Anyhow, I ended up introducing the word sneeze in a few classes.  Talking about sneezing with my students in Japan is interesting for a c0uple of reasons.  One, they have a hard time believing that Americans say, "Ah-choo" when we sneeze (Japanese  people say something sounding close to "hak-shun" when they sneeze.)  Also, in Japan, nobody says "bless you" or "guzundheit" after you sneeze.  Just silence.  That was a hard one for me to get used to, and it's not easy explaining to adults or young students why people in many western countries say "bless you" after a sneeze.

There is an expression in Japan (not sure exactly how it goes) that says if you sneeze once, it means someone is praising you; if you sneeze twice, it means someone is criticizing/saying bad things about you; if you sneeze three times, it means you are being scolded; and if you sneeze four times or more, well, it means you have a cold.

I wonder what it means if you sneeze like Morgan did.

Update:  Wow!  More serendipity.  I didn't know this when I posted, but it's Morgan Freeman's birthday today.   Happy 69th Morgan!

Update #2:  Mama Lisa has more on sneezing: How do you sneeze in your country?

Comments

[Schildpad]

I think the word "sneeze" is funny. The dictionary definition is even funnier. Have you *ever* had to explain what a sneeze is?

(Yes, I looked up the etymology, too. That told me where the Dutch and German word "niesen" comes from, but other than that, it was not so funny.)

Sneezy was one of the Seven Dwarfs, right?

Next time you sneeze, remember that it's impossible to keep your eyes open when you sneeze.