Marc
Member
Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: York
User status: Offline
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And you're supposed to say oranges ;o
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VegasPhil
Premium Member
Registered: 16th Jan 05
Location: Fareham, Hants Drives: Octavia VRS
User status: Offline
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Just tried the keeping your eyes open thing. No chance 
Corsa 2.0 16v Vegas - Sold
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SetH
Member
Registered: 15th Jul 01
User status: Online
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The term bless you is a hark back to the plauge days, sneezing was often the first sign that you had contracted the plague and people would say "bless you" as inevitably you were going to die.
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Kurt
Member
Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
User status: Offline
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stolen from wikipedia!
Origins
One traditional explanation for the custom is that it began literally as a blessing. Pope Gregory I the Great (AD 540-604) ascended to the Papacy just in time for the start of the bubonic plague in AD 590 (his successor succumbed to it). To combat the plague, Gregory ordered litanies, processions and unceasing prayer for God's blessing. When someone sneezed (seen as the initial onset of the plague), they were immediately blessed ("God bless you!") in the hope that they would not actually develop the disease.
[edit] Superstition
Other explanations are based on superstitions and urban legends about sneezing and what a sneeze entails. Some well known superstitions that may have contributed to bringing "bless you" into common use are:
The heart stops when you sneeze (it doesn't), and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.
A sneeze is the expulsion of some sort of evil, and the phrase is meant to ward off the evil's re-entry.
Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.
A sneeze is good luck and saying "bless you" is no more than recognition of the sneezer's luckiness.
Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.
Another urban legend states that you cannot open your eyes while you sneeze, or if you manage to your eyes will pop out. Both of the statements are untrue.
[edit] Modern use
In many English-speaking countries, the German equivalent, gesundheit (which roughly means "god bless you!"), is used after sneezing or coughing.
[edit] "Bless you" in other languages
Terms similar to "bless you" exist in many other languages.
Γείτσες in Greek.
Gesundheit in German.
Gezondheid (formal), or proost in Dutch.
Sanon in Esperanto.
Terveydeksi in Finnish.
À vos souhaits (formal), or à tes souhaits in French.
Labriut in Hebrew.
Salute in Italian.
На здравје in Macedonian
Na zdrowie in Polish.
Saúde in Portuguese.
Sănătate in Romanian.
Будь здоров in Russian.
Na zdravie in Slovak.
Na zdravje in Slovene.
Salud in Spanish.
Prosit in Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
عافیت باشه in Persian.
Chok yasha in Turkish.
Haffone in Arabic.
asirvadam in Tamil.
Noorella Aayisshu in Telugu.
Ambaji in Gujarati.
Chém sặc in Vietnamese.
[edit] References
Opie, Iona, and Moira Tatum. A Dictionary of Superstitions. Oxford University Press; Oxford, 1992. ISBN 0-19-282916-5
Snopes Urban Legends - Bless You!
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CorsAsh
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
User status: Offline
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SetH is correct! 
About something that wasn't heifers, guns or bodybuilding!
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SetH
Member
Registered: 15th Jul 01
User status: Online
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and i didnt need to visit wikipedia 
you also forgot "preggers" in my list of expert knowledge topics.
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CorsAsh
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
User status: Offline
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Apologies
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