Yes, it’s possible to sneeze out spaghetti

When I was six years old, I sneezed a noodle out of my nose.

I was at the airport with my family. We were running to catch a flight somewhere, and suddenly I stopped, sneezed, and launched the pasta into the air. I still remember the whitish noodle curled up against the black linoleum floor. We all laughed, and the "noodle sneeze" instantly became family lore.

As I grew older and repeated the story — either to distant relatives or perplexed friends — I started wondering how in the world my memorable moment was possible. When it happened, it was the morning. I had eaten spaghetti at night. Where was the noodle hidden during that whole time? Could it be the quintessential Italian thing to sneeze pasta? (I’m Italian.)

Simply, how does a...