Brain Teasers
True Story: Light Headed?
Science
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.Science
After a long day of work, I was relieved. I had been working since 4pm in a circuitry lab, working on the next big project. I observed the sun just starting to descend as I started to walk out to my car. All of a sudden, however, I had an urge to sneeze furiously! If it's the middle of January on a windy day, what's happening here?
Hint
- It's January, so there isn't very much pollen... at least not enough to be the cause.- I don't have any allergies.
- It's windy, so dust can't really settle anywhere.
- I'm not sick.
- This is a common occurrence for me.
- 20-25% of people will get this teaser right off the bat.
Answer
I have what's called the photic sneeze reflex.A few people have this quality which makes them sneeze when they are subjected to bright light, like the sun... especially if they are just coming from a darker room or place. About 20-25% of people have the photic sneeze reflex. The funny thing is it's difficult to monitor who has it and who doesn't... because all people who have this reflex tend to assume that all people have it and those who don't have it don't recognize this as a possibility!
You have no idea how many times I've been nailed when I try to explain this one ;-)
Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments
Finally I know that I am not alone to suffer from this. Thanks for sharing this info. Now I can quote your teaser to my friends when they make fun of me as I start sneezing in Sun.
My dad and son both sneeze as they step into the sun.
I am allergic to the sun? I'm allergic to winter too!
i thought it would be the cold wind. i never knew that was a real reflex.
thats news to me
thats news to me
Ever have the urge to sneeze, but just can't? When that happens to me, I just look at a bright light...now I know why!
Dont have it, but heard of it!
haha i have this too
cool!!I never knew this good job!i learned something new!in a 2 second period
Intressting, I did'n't know that
I also thought it might have been the cold air, January, wind blowing, etc. But I learned something new. Nice job.
Haha w/ Annie... I've done that so many times when I had to force a sneeze. People looked at me strangely when I suggested it to others since I assumed it affected everyone.
i didn't know only 20-25% have it, or that it wasa reflex. i guess i have it, because i thought it was a trick question.
I love learning something new. Thanks.
Thank you all! If you are still interested in this, I've got a link for you all:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex
And now you know how I feel when people ask me if I had allergies and I reply, "No, the sun was in my eyes."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photic_sneeze_reflex
And now you know how I feel when people ask me if I had allergies and I reply, "No, the sun was in my eyes."
like you say i didn't know that could exist
I'd never heard of this; but, I have another issue. You said you had been at work since 4pm. After a "long day" you stepped out of the building "as the sun started to descend." If I do the math - 4pm to sunset is only 2-3 hours apart. I'd like to work these type of "long days." Otherwise, great teaser!
wow, thats cool, u learn something new every day! lol i'll be sure to check to see if i sneeze in the sun the next time i go out haha
leraned something new today
Mar 27, 2007
I had no idea. I guess I added a new word to my vocabulary today.
TOTALLY AWESOME
Lovin it
Lovin it
I knew what it was since I've had it before, to both natural and artificial light, but I had no idea what it was called. So technically, I nailed it! Whee. Good teaser, I liked.
Thank you so much for this little bit of trivia. My friend always sneezes whenever she goes outside, and she just thought she was "weird". Of course, in the brain teaser, you could also just have a cold!
Hey, wow! I always thought everyone had it But only 20-25% hey! I always sneeze when I see it - sometimes I look at it deliberately (as I like sneezing hehe)
Who knew (you, apparently!)
Who knew (you, apparently!)
I knew this one. I also have it learned about it in 7th grade
you know i also have photic reflex sneeze
I thought EVERYONE had this
How big is the car (to walk out of)
How big is the car (to walk out of)
And here I was trying furiously to figure out where the heck in the world it might be like springtime in January! And also where you would be to have started work at 4 PM and then work a long day and the sun is just then descending - on the east coast USA in January the sun is descending not long after 4 PM... like around 5 PM! (Or was that a typo? 4 AM?) I also thought that saying the sun was "descending" instead of "setting" meant something.
What a wild goose chase just went on in my head!!
Thanks!
Jim
What a wild goose chase just went on in my head!!
Thanks!
Jim
jmac. He said he was working in the lab since 4pm. Didn't say when or where else he worked thru the day.
As for the teaser it was easy for me. I almost always sneeze if I look at the sun.
As for the teaser it was easy for me. I almost always sneeze if I look at the sun.
I didn't realize the name for it but if I have to sneeze, I just look at a light and out it comes! Fun!
cute teaser! My friend has this. Until she explained it, I never knew this existed.
i am gonna start payin attention to ppl sneezin ! lol
I got this one right away, because my husband has this condition. I always thought he made it up, and he thought I was strange because the bright light doesn't make me sneeze. Now I can tell him what it is. Cool, but I must admit that the 4 PM got me thinking along some strange paths for a minute.
For some reason, I yawn when I see bright light. Unfortunately, my mom takes too many photos.
I sneeze when I come from a dark room into a bright room ... ocasionally ... more like rarely.
Do I have the reflex?
Do I have the reflex?
I, too, was concentrating on the "starting work at 4PM" part because in mid January at 4PM where I am, the sun doesn't have much time left in the sky. Today, IE, is Jan 31st and it happens to be 4:45PM. Officially, the sun will set at 5:23PM (I'm in Oregon).
Anyway..... I'm always told to look at the sun (or a bright light) when I can't sneeze; but when I have a sneeze that's stuck, I have to hold really still and nobody can talk to me or it will NOT come out! And when I DO sneeze, I sneeze twice in a row and I break out in full-body goosebumps.
Anyway..... I'm always told to look at the sun (or a bright light) when I can't sneeze; but when I have a sneeze that's stuck, I have to hold really still and nobody can talk to me or it will NOT come out! And when I DO sneeze, I sneeze twice in a row and I break out in full-body goosebumps.
I also thought the teaser was really easy because, whatever the timeline, he came out of a building and into the sun and sneezed. I thought this happened to everyone. Like brain freeze and ice cream headaches. Who knew?
I missed this one because I thought the photic sneeze reflex was too obvious. I've had this all my life, and I jokingly refer to it as my "sun allergy" and claim that I'm 1/64th vampire on my father's side.
2thGirl: I have the same thing where I always sneeze twice in a row. I am so jealous that you are in Oregon. When I was in 1st grade I lived in Oregon and I miss it so much!!!
Great teaser to whomever wrote this.
Great teaser to whomever wrote this.
Now that we have heard from everyuone about their sneezing prob lems, I want to know why this is called a teaser, and why we should know the answer to it? It seems to me it should be in a school medical test and not here. Sorry folks, I am entitled to my opinion!
Obviously there is a wide range of subjects dealt with in the teaser category. This was easy and fun for me because I, too, have the same condition! Thanks for posting! Incidentally the sneezing doesn't bother me and I'm always glad when the sun is shining. Small price to pay!
Been working all day since 4pm? Are you on the southern end of Africa or South America? If so, another explanation may me Hay Fever being that it would be Summer and some types of pollen may still be present along with very long days (southern version of "the land of the Midnight Sun.")
Very easy for me,because I sneeze many times when I step out into the sun. Good luck to GW and her new BF.
Never heard of the disorder. In January here lots of people are sneezing because they have a much more common illness called a "cold". But that doesn't make you sneeze when you go outside.
As for the weather, that's pretty typical of a January day in Texas. I didn't get it, but interesting!
I got it because I got it.
Teaser was easy for me, as I have it too. I have found that bright fluorescent lights can bring a sneeze on as well.
Another interesting thing I've found is that there is a link between folks that suffer migraines with an aura being folks that also sneeze at the sun. I know there was some research on this in the past. I have migraines with the aura and photic sneeze reflex and I've queried at least 5 folks I know who get migraines and the aura and they too sneeze at the sun! Interestingly, bright light is a trigger for migraines for me.
Fascinating stuff....
Another interesting thing I've found is that there is a link between folks that suffer migraines with an aura being folks that also sneeze at the sun. I know there was some research on this in the past. I have migraines with the aura and photic sneeze reflex and I've queried at least 5 folks I know who get migraines and the aura and they too sneeze at the sun! Interestingly, bright light is a trigger for migraines for me.
Fascinating stuff....
And for those of you who like unusual words, here's the scientific name for the phenomenon of "sun sneezing" -- photoptarmosis.
Photic sneeze reflex I've heard of, but there was too much extraneous info here. Who starts a long day of work at 4PM, and gets out in time to see the sunset?? I thought the answer would include some Antarctica reference cause thats where there are circuitry labs, and midnight suns, or something a little clever like that.
Now I know the scientific name for it! I kept telling everyone I was allergic to the sun.
Happens to me, also. Leaving my car to walk across a parking lot or leaving the building out into a parking lot will trigger 3 to 4 loud sneezes. Gets embarrassing when people keep saying, "Bless you" each time.
Some people have a reflex where cleaning the ear canal triggers a cough.
Some people have a reflex where cleaning the ear canal triggers a cough.
I was also confused by the "long day starting at 4pm", but it occurred to me that the phrase "sun just starting to descend" actually implies that the author is stepping out just after midday, if we assume that is when the sun hits its highest point. In anyone's book, 4pm to noon the following day constitutes a very long day at work.
All of which is fairly irrelevant to the teaser, which, unless you are aware of the condition, would be impossible to deduce.
All of which is fairly irrelevant to the teaser, which, unless you are aware of the condition, would be impossible to deduce.
Oddly enough, I have this condition, but I didn't come up with the answer. I thought it was going to be something more complicated -- something to do with static electricity, since you were working in a circuitry lab, and cold weather tends to generate more static shocks. Good red herring.
I am allergic to brainteasers. They make my head hurt.
Im smart (or just a science nerd )
Fun, challenging and entertaining teaser. I did not get it because I have never heard of Photic Sneeze Reflex and was not aware you could sneeze from exposure to bright light after being in a dark room for awhile.
I was aware of that condition, but thought it too obvious.
Besides, if you started work at 4pm, it must have been a very short shift, to finish before sunset after a long day, unless you were working in Norway?
Besides, if you started work at 4pm, it must have been a very short shift, to finish before sunset after a long day, unless you were working in Norway?
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!