The Curious History of Filming the Sneeze 🤧
The sneeze—a violent expiatory event—is a universal and involuntary action that has fascinated people long before the invention of the moving image. Today, cutting-edge research uses highly sensitive slow-motion cameras to observe the turbulent, multiphase cloud that distributes a payload of droplets and mucosal matter at high speeds and over great distances. These images, while often gross, are engrossing and provide crucial data on contagion.
From Omen to Early Cinema
The compulsion to study and capture the sneeze is nearly as old as cinema itself.
Ancient Interpretations: For the ancient Greeks, a sneeze could be interpreted as an omen from the gods. Later, a Roman doctor even suggested that sneezing during intercourse could function as a contraceptive. More commonly, a sneeze was simply seen as an early sign of impending illness.
The Dawn of Film: The first preserved moving image in the history of cinema is arguably a sneeze. In 1894, the short film known as "Fred Ott's Sneeze" was recorded to test Thomas Edison’s new moving picture machine, the Kinetoscope. The five-second film, showing Ott taking a pinch of snuff and then sneezing, captivated the public, who were amazed that something as fast as a sneeze could be captured, preserved, and endlessly repeated.
The Public Health Revelation
The fascination with the sneeze took on a critical public health dimension in the late 19th century with the discovery that infectious diseases are caused by microscopic pathogens. This new understanding, paired with the global trauma of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, led directly to the public health messages we recognize today, such as "coughs and sneezes spread diseases."
The most powerful visualization of this message came with the development of stroboscopic photography in the 1930s by MIT researcher Harold Edgerton. Edgerton's technique used short, sharp flashes of light to seemingly freeze time, allowing for the first detailed analysis of high-speed phenomena, including the sneeze. These dramatic images helped people understand the raw power of a sneeze and the need to protect themselves and others.
During World War II, UK public health officials used these compelling stroboscopic images in wartime propaganda to persuade those working in the war effort to cover their mouths and wear germ masks to prevent the spread of infection.
Modern Control and Continued Fascination
In the age of SARS and COVID-19, cutting-edge technology continues the tradition of filming sneezes, seeking an even fuller understanding of their mechanics. This research helps public health officials to more effectively deploy tools like masks and social distancing in the fight against epidemics.
Beyond the laboratory, the image of the sneeze persists. A quick online search yields countless homemade videos and vlogger footage, capturing these explosive moments for comedy, fascination, or simply information. The sneeze is something common to us all, yet so spontaneous and fast that we never fully see it in real-time. Capturing it on film and slowing it down offers a sense of control, or at least the illusion of control, over a rapid, involuntary bodily function. In this regard, our viewing habits are not so different from those who watched Fred Ott's sneeze over a century ago.
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