In seventh grade I had a math teacher who sneezed like Minnie Mouse, I swear. She brought her knees together, wrinkled her nose, and squeaked.
I sneeze like a train wreck. My sneezes are brain-tingling and nuclear.
I sneeze with my whole body. So there are certain situations, like while driving/sitting in a crowded restaurant/
performing brain surgery, when it is best for me to prevent an oncoming sneeze. For those of us whose sneezes cause major train-of-thought wrecks, this
tidbit may be useful.
When I was twelve years old, I was told that there are four (alright, five) magical words that, when said quickly, can prevent a nosetickle from becoming an explosion. These words are
Alligator Alligator In A Bed
Yes, it works. I do not know why or how, but it does. Maybe it is the same thing that makes pixie dust work. Maybe it is the way that the muscles of the nose and throat move while saying these words. The important thing to remember is that saying these words softly and quickly when you feel a sneeze coming on will kill the sneeze, and its little dog too.
ascorbic says to press on the philtrum to prevent sneezes. I say that sounds like another excellent method.
czeano says that running the tongue along the ridge at the roof of the mouth, creating a tickly sensation, works too. czeano also says that since 'l' is a voiced alveolar consonant, that might explain why "Alligator Alligator" works.
Oh, I love you e2 people! Only you guys would use hard facts to explain why magic words can be effective!