Sneezes evoke fear of death

Our happy hour fact to amaze your drinking buddies with.

Witnessing a sneeze immediately increases one's worry about general health hazards.

Researchers at the University of Michigan, in the ol' US of A, asked a group of students, who had just seen a planted actor sneeze, to rate the chances of an average American contracting a disease, dying prematurely of a heart attack and being the victim of a violent attack. The respondents predicted a much greater likelihood of each of these scenarios unfolding than those in a control group who were not exposed to the sneezer.

The researchers admit that some of this discrepancy can be attributed to swine flu being in the news. Said one of the team members: "When there is a health threat and people are exposed to little reminders of that it elicits a fear response that makes you feel that the world is a dangerous place."

Beyond the existential dread, we're pretty sure hearing a sneeze also evokes the fear that a random person is going to inadvertently blow a hard mist of saliva onto your face.