• Question: Why do we close our eyes when we sniff?

    Asked by Nickoname to Ceri, Marikka, Matt, Rob on 19 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Robert Hampson

      Robert Hampson answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      Errm, I don’t? Does this make me weird?

    • Photo: Ceri Dare

      Ceri Dare answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      Do you mean sneezing rather than sniffing? I can definitely sniff with my eyes open.

      Nobody’s very sure why we close our eyes when we sneeze – maybe to protect your eyes from whatever made us sneeze? But your eyes won’t pop out if you have your eyelids open – they are very well attached by the optic nerve.

      There’s a video discussing more here: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131129-why-our-eyes-close-when-we-sneeze

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