A new theory suggests that the annoying affliction actually protects us:
[H]ated allergic symptoms keep unhealthy environmental irritants out of the body, [immunobiologist Ruslan] Medzhitov posits. "How do you defend against something you inhale that you don't want? You make mucus. You make a runny nose, you sneeze, you cough, and so forth. Or if it's on your skin, by inducing itching, you avoid it or you try to remove it by scratching it," he explains. Likewise, if you've ingested something allergenic, your body might react with vomiting.
Update from a reader, who warns:
Not to be too picky, but you show what looks like a cat sticking its nose into a tulip – this is not a good thing, since tulips are poisonous to cats. Alas, many (most?) flowers are poisonous to cats, a fact we learned when we, who like plants and flowers, got cats (and got rid of the plants and flowers). You can check this out on ASPCA’s website.
But to be more specific:
The toxic portion of this plant is the actual bulb, which can cause drooling, central nervous system depression, gastrointestinal irritation, cardiac issues and convulsions.
The Dish 