Sneezing is not normal.

In which John discusses the saga of Dr. NeverSneezer Scrooge, and how the ridiculous information we encounter shapes us and the world we share.
Speaking of sharing ridiculous information, The Anthropocene Reviewed book has just celebrated it fifth week on the New York Times bestseller list. Thank you for reading it, sharing it, and responding to it so generously.

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[marinar]

Here at Never Sneezers International™ we would like to inform John Green that sneezing is, in fact, never normal. We never sneeze. We do not have to justify the times when we do sneeze .. because we never sneeze. John, if you need help for your severe sneezing problem, we can help.

[joshuasims]

How often do you think about Dr. Neversneezer Scrooge?
Oh, you know, a normal amount.
Thinking about Dr. Neversneezer Scrooge isn't normal. I never think about Dr. Neversneezer Scrooge.

[shalenkleats]

When I heard this, I immediately started a cross stitch that says “It’s not normal to sneeze.” I was going to send it to John, but I started to worry that too much time had passed, and he would have basically forgotten about the whole thing. I see that I was incorrect.

[jennamedlyn]

I clicked so fast when I saw the title. I've been thinking about "sneezing is not normal" for weeks.

[andrwarrior]

Here's my personal but profound take on sneezing. I don't have nearly any memories of my Grandpa left, but the one that somehow stuck with me was how loud he would sneeze. It would be boisterous, cartoonish, and prolonged. It would make me laugh, and one time I asked him why he sneezed like that. He told me "You don't sneeze very often, so you might as well make them count." It just captivated me, and I really like the message it brought with it.

[SuperPetediddy]

Here’s my explanation: the doctor needed their patient to be more specific and quickly came up with a way of explaining that there is no “normal” amount of sneezing. They were probably having a tough day at work or didn’t get enough sleep. Because of that, they oversimplified their explanation to the point where it became a hilarious lie.

[katieduplessis]

They’ve turned the AFC Wimbledon stadium into a vaccination centre and I got my shot there and I felt proud to be a Nerdfighter ☺️

[jamesbrixey]

I never sneeze. Sneezing is not normal.
However, occasionally I exhale just that little bit faster than typical.

[krunkjunk]

My parents were at a movie decades ago and a lady sneezed behind them. Her husband, rather loudly and rudely said "I told you not to sneeze!". It's been a running joke in the family since then.

[elizabethyow]

To counteract the “Sneezing is not normal”, I have a distinct memory of in kindergarten, I was chilling on the playground with my friend, and I sneezed 🤧 She jokingly said “the more you sneeze, the more I like you. The more times that a person sneezes, the more that I like them”. So even up until this day, sometimes when I sneeze, I remember that moment. 😆

[emmacox]

Makes me think of that John Mulaney bit where he says "The things crazy people say mean nothing to them, but they mean EVERYTHING to me"

[spriggsmoriarty]

“Sneeze-adjacent phenomenon” seems like an obscure yet devastating insult

[nicolereyes]

John, it’s worse. On the pod you read that it was their ALLERGIST!

[sarahvnyc]

This reminds me of someone I used to work with, who repeatedly claimed that they "never got sick". It was attributed in part to some supplement they took. They would get stomach bugs which were attributed to food poisoning (so it doesn't count somehow), and then they would get colds and flus which they would bring to work and claim were allergies. "It's so weird, I wonder what I am suddenly allergic to in the middle of January in New York City. And I almost feel like I have a fever!" And then everyone in the office would catch their "allergies" and I would end up with some horrible lingering bronchitis because I have a primary immunodeficiency disease. Good times!

[sortasamm]

Hey I just want to say that the day that the episode featuring Dr. NeverSneeze was one of the worst days of my life up to this point. I was driving across country with my mom and our cat had medical complications in the car and passed away before we could get her to an emergency vet. Your podcast was the one bright spark in that horrible day and made us laugh until we cried. I hope you guys know the impact that you make on people's lives.

[ayushagarwal]

The "sneezing is not normal" thought is itself spreading contagiously among the inhabitants of this planets. So fittingly meta.

[SMFortissimo]

Nursing student here. I’m gonna go with the notion that remembering Dr Never Sneezer Scrooge will remind me that what I say, no matter how insignificant it may seem to me, could stick with my patient’s in ways I never thought. So, maybe you’ve made my nursing practice a little better. There’s that.

[Emileeeee]

Leave it to John green to make a goofy story about a doctor who claims to never sneeze into an existential question about what we pay attention to. I love it! Good work!

[Hawkeye]

When I was a little kid I thought that 'breathe through your nose' was some weird adult joke that I didn't get because you can't breathe through your nose, that's not how noses work. I may have had really bad allergies as a kid... 😂

[andrebourgeois]

So, true story; I had to watch this again after sneezing. Something occured to me. You are concerned about making the world somehow worse by perhaps making us concerned about sneezing. What you have actually done instead is bring incredible mirth to our lives by sharing the amazing "Neversneezer Scrooge" nickname. What a delight. I'll think about it and smile everytime I sneeze.