97: Sneezing & Parable MythBusters episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 20, 2025 · 1H 50M

97: Sneezing & Parable MythBusters

from Let's Learn Everything! · host Tom Lum

What, when, where, why, and how... do we sneeze? There's a surprising amount of mystery to the thing we do all the time, and a lot to learn about! And how many parables and metaphors that we use are actually true? Let's actually dig in to the research and bust some myths!! I mean... break some... falsehoods!!Images we Talk About:The Rat DiagramCaseidsDiplodocus BonesPlane DiagramMoai WalkingTimestamps:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:26) Sneezing(00:57:55) Parable Mythbusters(01:43:59) OutroSupport us with a Max Fun Membership!Join our Discord!We also learn about: Caroline was inspired by being sick,  theories of sneezing, sneezing in the odyssey, Aristotle said burping and farting are not divine, 25 sextillion molecules in every breath, it’s a wonder we’re not sneezing all the time, sneezing only goes to your brain stem, a sneeze can send particles 8 meters, what ion channel? last year we made sneezless mice, le petite mort and le petit orgasm, the incredible mid-sneeze mouse diagram, we’re gonna talk about - ghoooosts, A.C.H.O.O or the photic sneeze reflex, our explanations for sneezing reflect our understanding of science at the time, snatiation, S.N.A.T.I.A.T.I.O.N, sneezing from getting horny, pee chills, a sneeze is just a more obvious indicator that wires get crossed, diagnostic sneeze testing, finding the first sneezing animal, the earliest diaphgram, chickens sneeze, African wild dogs voting by sneeze, dolphins chuffing, bugs aren’t part of the sneeze club, unlike the mythbusters we won’t be blowing up cars, okay maybe a few, if you put a frog into boiling water it won’t jump out it will die, boiling frogs in search of the soul, the climate change metaphor works for brain dead leaders, the survivorship bias meme plane, the image is fictitious but Abraham Wald is even cooler, America’s Bletchley - The Statistical Research Group, some people believe the heads had bodies, oh my god they did, the walking Moai, the deforestation happened before the people, invasive rats without a natural predator, pretending we’re surprised about colonialism being the culprit, we didn’t need to do carbon dating to find some of these answers guys.Sources:1990 Paper: The History of Sneezing2013 Paper: The Omen of Sneezing2009 Paper: Sneeze reflex: Facts and fictionSmithsonian: Why Do We Sneeze?National Geographic: The Air You Breathe Is Full of SurprisesWiki: Sneeze2025 Paper: The Sneeze Reflex in Physiological and Pathological states: a mini review2024 Paper: Mouse Sneezing StudyNature: Cough or sneeze? How the brain knows what to unleashScientific American: Looking at the Sun Can Trigger a Sneeze2010 Paper: When the Sun Prickles Your Nose: An EEG Study Identifying Neural Bases of Photic SneezingScienceLine: Why Do People Sneeze When They Look at the Sun?OMIM: Gastric Sneezing2009 Paper: Arousal and Sneezing2017 Article: An Ancient Origin for the Diaphragm2022 Paper: Lung Evolution in Vertebrates and the Water-to-Land TransitionNational Geographic: Animal SneezingNational Geographic: African Wild Dogs Vote by SneezeOceanbites: Sneeze, Cough, Chuff: Respiratory Irritation in DolphinsNatural History Museum: HagfishesSmithsonian: 14 Fun Facts About HagfishSci-Show- Aquatic Sneezing2022 Paper: Sponges Sneeze2022 Paper: Dinosaur SicknessNational Geographic: First Dinosaur Found with a Respiratory Disease---Atlantic on The Boiling FrogKnow Your Meme: Survivorship Bias PlaneCameron Moll Blog Post about Original DrawingAbraham Wald's Plane Statistic MemorandumTerry Hunt's Incredible "Rethinking the Fall of Easter Island"The Walking Moai Paper Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinlearn

What, when, where, why, and how... do we sneeze? There's a surprising amount of mystery to the thing we do all the time, and a lot to learn about! And how many parables and metaphors that we use are actually true? Let's actually dig in to the research and bust some myths!! I mean... break some... falsehoods!!

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97: Sneezing & Parable MythBusters

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What, when, where, why, and how... do we sneeze? There's a surprising amount of mystery to the thing we do all the time, and a lot to learn about! And how many parables and metaphors that we use are actually true? Let's actually dig in to the...

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