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Superstitions about drafts are bizarrely common. Bosnians, for example, tend to be terrified of "propuh", or cross drafts. If you leave windows open on either s

Superstitions about drafts are bizarrely common. Bosnians, for example, tend to be terrified of "propuh", or cross drafts. If you leave windows open on either side of a building, you risk any malady up to and including paralysis. I find it hard to understand how such beliefs get started, or manage to remain so prevalent.

Retra 12y ago
People are absurd.
hobs 12y ago
Its very easy to understand how it gets started, its just weird that people hang onto them, and it is the same reason people burned witches. 1. Something uneventful thing happens (a guy likes to leave his windows open) 2. He gets cancer and dies 3. Cross drafts are clearly the problem
Avalaxy 12y ago
In The Netherlands (not sure if that's specified to my country or to people in general) I often hear people saying that you shouldn't go outside without a jacket when it's cold, because it will make you sick...
- adambard 12y ago
  This is common in Canada (from experience) and probably the US (from watching American TV).
  - vezzy-fnord 12y ago
    It's actually a common misconception for most of the Western world, I think. It's really a misunderstanding between getting cold (hypothermia, in the worst case) and catching a cold, which is a virus.
    - bcj 12y ago
      It probably doesn't help that people spend more time inside in close quarters during cold weather.
- kalleboo 12y ago
  I've heard this in the US, UK, Sweden, Japan... it seems like a universal misconception.
- ceejayoz 12y ago
  That one's actually probably correct. http://www.nature.com/news/cold-viruses-thrive-in-frosty-conditions-1.13025 http://www.nature.com/news/cold-viruses-thrive-in-frosty-con... > A team from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found that low temperatures dampen natural defences against rhinoviruses, the leading causes of seasonal colds, in mice and in human airway cells.
  - nerfhammer 12y ago
    Is that the air temperature or body temperature? Your body thermoregulates and won't change temperature based on what you're wearing until you're experiencing hyper/hypothermia

Retra 12y ago

People are absurd.

hobs 12y ago

Its very easy to understand how it gets started, its just weird that people hang onto them, and it is the same reason people burned witches. 1. Something uneventful thing happens (a guy likes to leave his windows open) 2. He gets cancer and dies 3. Cross drafts are clearly the problem

Avalaxy 12y ago

In The Netherlands (not sure if that's specified to my country or to people in general) I often hear people saying that you shouldn't go outside without a jacket when it's cold, because it will make you sick...

adambard 12y ago
This is common in Canada (from experience) and probably the US (from watching American TV).
- vezzy-fnord 12y ago
  It's actually a common misconception for most of the Western world, I think. It's really a misunderstanding between getting cold (hypothermia, in the worst case) and catching a cold, which is a virus.
  - bcj 12y ago
    It probably doesn't help that people spend more time inside in close quarters during cold weather.
kalleboo 12y ago
I've heard this in the US, UK, Sweden, Japan... it seems like a universal misconception.
ceejayoz 12y ago
That one's actually probably correct. http://www.nature.com/news/cold-viruses-thrive-in-frosty-conditions-1.13025 http://www.nature.com/news/cold-viruses-thrive-in-frosty-con... > A team from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found that low temperatures dampen natural defences against rhinoviruses, the leading causes of seasonal colds, in mice and in human airway cells.
- nerfhammer 12y ago
  Is that the air temperature or body temperature? Your body thermoregulates and won't change temperature based on what you're wearing until you're experiencing hyper/hypothermia