When I’m alone with somebody and they say absolutely nothing after I sneeze, I have to process that for a moment and decide what kind of person they are. They are probably stoic & logical & they eschew bullshit meaningless traditions. I like it. But I’m a girl with a big heart and I still cannot bear to be silent after somebody sneezes, but I agree it’s meaningless & old-fashioned to say “bless you,” so

I learned Chinese a few years ago and they say “Yi bai sui” or “may you live 100 years” after somebody sneezes. So I say that in english after somebody sneezes. “May you live 100 years.” That way there’s no awkward silence showing that I’m cold and heartless, instead I’m a compassionate educated polyglot 😜