Sneezing in the sun

So I've always had this thing where if I suddenly see direct sunlight I get an urge to sneeze. And I LOVE a good sneeze! So I'll often seek out a direct shaft of sunlight, just to get a sneeze.

But people used to tell me that it was an imagined response, just because they didn't get the same urge.

I've recently learned, however, that this sneezing in sunlight thing is actually very widespread, affecting about a third of people globally. It's even got a posh name: photic sneeze reflex. It seems that the cranial nerve responsible for sneezes is affected by the nerve that carries optical signals to the brain when there's a sudden burst of light.

So there!