This might be hard to believe, but way back in the dark ages, before the BlackBerry, streaming video and even — gasp — the Internet, it still was possible to multitask. All it took was a handkerchief.

It is possible to sneeze more quietly. Not everyone cares to, even if their sneezes could wake the dead. But for some people, these surprising tips can be a game changer. At a certain point, there’s ...