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Podcast: Today In History with The Retrospectors
Episode: Pope Gregory's Sneeze
Description: Why do we say ‘God Bless You’ when we sneeze? Some historians trace it back to 16th February, 600 - and a decree supposedly issued by the pun-loving, God-fearing Pope Gregory to ward off the effects of the plague that had killed his predecessor.(Sadly, Gregory’s other idea to fight off the disease wasn’t quite so successful - he organized a parade through Rome, and 80 people in the crowd spread the symptoms to each other, subsequently dying.)In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how locals respond to sneezes in Serbia, China, R...