Word of the Week Wednesday: Sternutation

Sternutation (noun)

Pronounced
Ster-nyuh-TAY-shun

Definition
The act, fact, or noise of sneezing

Example Sentence
After Mary’s sixteenth fit of sternutation, Paul gave up on his politeness and declared an all-encompassing, “Bless you for the rest of the day.”

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Did you know?

The everyday phenomenon of sternutation is nothing to sneeze at. Below are a few interesting facts from “Everyday Mysteries,” a collection of fun science facts from the Library of Congress.

* Sneezes are an automatic reflex that can’t be stopped once sneezing starts.

* Sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour and the wet spray can radiate five feet.

* People don’t sneeze when they are asleep because the nerves involved in nerve reflex are also resting.

* Between 18 and 35% of the population sneezes when exposed to sudden bright light.

* Some people sneeze when plucking their eyebrows because the nerve endings in the face are irritated and then fire an impulse that reaches the nasal nerve.

* Donna Griffiths from Worcestershire, England sneezed for 978 days, sneezing once every minute at the beginning. This is the longest sneezing episode on record.

Definition and pronunciation taken from Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary. Science facts taken from www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries.