Dear LPG,

Have you ever heard that phrase ‘0 to 60’? Many youngsters gauge the performance of a fast car on just how long it takes to achieve this speed in miles per hour.  But it transpires that there is something we can each get to travel much faster than that.

It is getting to that time of year again when there is a nip in the morning air and it sometimes gets to us.  Perhaps it is the fact that we have just managed to get over what there was of this year’s summer but, when September introduces itself back into our annual season rotation, the coughs and sneezes pop right back into our heads and manifest themselves when we least expect them to.  I have to say that I feel particularly sorry for those that suffer all year round because of the effect that hay fever has on them. 

The other day I read a poem on your pages about the fact that people continue to wear masks now that the government says that they don’t have to be seen everywhere (►►►) and I have to admit to being one of those who still reaches for one on my way out of the house; no matter how short my intended journey.

I also caught an excerpt from a children’s television programme the other day which featured a song that pointed out just how far the fallout from a sneeze can travel.   It spurred me on to take a look at the internet to check and I was surprised to find that there is quite a bit of information about this very point.

Did you know that it has now been proved that particles produced by a sneeze can travel for up to 27 feet and leave the mouth or nose at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour?

I have to say I now have somewhat worrying visions of the chefs that make fast and restaurant food being affected by pepper induced sneezes and not having time to do anything but spray the food they are preparing while sharing their germs with us in that way.  Suffice to say I am still very reluctant to eat out or eat any foods that are not pre-packed these days.  For some reason I feel that machines are more likely to prepare such foods without the need for the expulsion of any excess air and what can so often travel with it.  I have also found some information about how talking can have a serious effect.

Having read this, I think that I have become much more aware of the need to step away from the source, just a bit more, when I hear a sneeze or even listen to someone who is talking to me.  We really need to continue to be more careful about the direction we are facing when the urge to deliver a sneeze, or even a short speech, gets to us and, with the added fact that Covid-19 has not really gone anywhere and is airborne-transferable, I think I will keep my mask well and truly on for a while longer.

LK, Downham.

LK shares what she found…

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