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The world’s most powerful leaders leave behind many things over the course of their lives. The big things, like their legacies, their families, and their office’s socio-economic impact. And the small things, like their old shoes. Or all their unwanted sandwich crusts. Or the tissues, handkerchiefs, and napkins they sneezed into before, during, and after major events.

In ancient Greece, a sneeze was thought to be a prophetic sign from the Gods. If you gave a speech and someone sneezed at the end, most people would end up agreeing with what you said. In the Middle Ages, inhaling was associated with the creation of life and exhaling with death, thus sneezes were feared to be fatal.

Regardless of what a sneeze is believed to mean, it serves as a momentary derailment that results in a complete loss of control. Sneezes are evidence that no one, not even the world’s most powerful leader, is always in control. And everyone has the ability to lose it at any time.