About the Common Cold
Cited in 2 Likelier entries (2 risks, 0 decisions).
Used in 2 entries
For each citing entry, the verbatim excerpt and Likelier's calculation notes (how the source's number was converted to the lifetime-probability framing) are shown below. Click through to read the full claim ledger.
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- Statistic
More than 200 respiratory viruses cause colds; rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause; primary spread is droplets and contact
“"More than 200 respiratory viruses can cause colds. Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of colds in the United States. [...] Most respiratory viruses are spread through droplets that an infected person releases when they cough or sneeze. These droplets can enter your body if you breathe them in or touch a contaminated surface and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth."”
Calculation notes
CDC's current patient-facing page is the plain-language anchor for the "colds are viral, not thermal" frame. The folk model treats cold exposure as causative; CDC treats virus exposure as causative and does not list chilling or being under-dressed indoors as a transmission route at all. The Eccles and Foxman results sit downstream of this: you still need the virus. Without rhinovirus or one of the other ~200 candidates in your airway, cold feet on tile do not produce a cold.
Independence note: Institutional CDC public-health guidance; editorially independent of the Eccles clinical trial and Foxman mechanistic paper, though it aligns with both.
Source date: 2026-02-19 · Accessed: 2026-04-16
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- Statistic
More than 200 respiratory viruses cause colds; rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause; primary spread is droplets and contact
“"More than 200 respiratory viruses can cause colds. Rhinoviruses are the most frequent cause of colds in the United States. [...] Most respiratory viruses are spread through droplets that an infected person releases when they cough or sneeze. These droplets can enter your body if you breathe them in or touch a contaminated surface and then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth."”
Calculation notes
CDC's current patient-facing page is the authoritative anchor for the "colds are viral, not thermal" frame. Rain, cold air, and wet clothing are not listed as transmission routes. The page identifies droplet inhalation and contaminated-surface contact as the mechanisms — both require a virus source (an infected person), not a weather event. This directly contradicts the folk model in which rain on skin produces illness independently of viral exposure.
Independence note: Institutional CDC public-health guidance; editorially independent of the Eccles clinical trial.
Source date: 2026-02-19 · Accessed: 2026-04-19
Also cited in these entries
Bare feet indoors
What are the odds of getting sick from walking around home without a hat, scarf, gloves, socks, or slippers?
Rain & getting sick
What are the odds of getting sick from walking in the rain without an umbrella?