I used to think my roommate, JT, was full of crap when he told me that the sun made him sneeze. Every time we would go outside on a sunny day, he'd sneeze. I told him it was probably pollen in the air or something else that he was allergic to. He insisted it was the sun.
Turns out, he was probably right. Scientists have been doing extensive research for years to discover a connection between optical reflexes and nosular response. (Yes, I just made that word up.) While it is still unclear what parts of the brain exactly cause this and how the responses are connected, they have at least discovered that it is a real phenomenon.
For those of you that are wondering what this syndrome is called, you might have guessed that it had something to do with the title of this post. It goes by many names, but the latest is Autosomal Cholinergic Helio-Ophtalmologic Outburst syndrome (ACHOO).
If you'd like to read more about ACHOO, see the following links:
http://www.neatorama.com/2010/04/09/the-sunny-sneeze/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/100820
