Talk:2306: Common Cold

2020-05-15T18:16:23Z

162.158.93.33:

WHEN COVID19 IS DONE KEEP UP WITH THE HAND WASHING![[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.122|108.162.216.122]] 23:16, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

I saw a thing reshared some time last month claiming that after the hand-sanitizer-and-masks outbreak in Japan, some regions were recording record low numbers of influenza hospitalisations for this time of year. Thought that would be nice; but could only find unsourced claims. Would be nice to think there really was that kind of silver lining. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 23:30, 13 May 2020 (UTC)
:Since people are really staying away from each other, the only way flu and common cold can spread has also been eliminated. So of course the rate has dropped. But yes, would be nice to see some citations. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:13, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
::Found this [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-17/coronavirus-numbers-flu-tracking-data/12134082 Coronavirus isolation measures are reducing all flu-like diseases, not just COVID-19].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:15, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
::And this is more up to date: [https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/coronavirus-doctors-see-huge-drop-in-flu-common-cold-diarrhoea-and-conjunctivitis Coronavirus: Doctors see huge drop in flu, common cold, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis cases since circuit breaker measures]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
:::While this SEEMS good news, I have wondered for a while now if, by eliminating harmless cold viruses that our immune systems are more or less accustomed to as "collateral damage", we might not accidentally open up new ecological niches, which then get occupied by MORE new pathogens that our immune systems are NOT accustomed to. So, it may actually a good idea to consider that deal.... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.122|162.158.159.122]] 13:50, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
::::I don't think cold viruses are thought to be part of healthy gut flora (or [[1471: Gut Fauna|gut fauna]]), but the "{{w|hygiene hypothesis}}" posits that failure to properly seed the microbiome in early childhood (i.e. not enough dirt in life) may lead to increased prevalence of allergies and other autoimmune disorders, because (perhaps) the immune system is under-exercised and so some of its regulatory mechanisms are under-developed. --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 15:02, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
::::: Stepping up the speculativeness up a notch, an immune systeme permanently on the alert by flu might be good against cancer. That said, maybe the poor virii should just try to look more cute? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.90|162.158.159.90]] 08:09, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

::::By social distancing, we are not harming cold viruses more than anything else ; what we are doing is basically shrinking the ecological niche containing it. So, no ... unless we will be so good in it we really eliminate cold viruses and when we do, we will then stop social distancing and grow the ecological niche again. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:16, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

You guys are engaging in uneducated speculation. PLEASE STOP! Viruses are nothing at all like bacteria (which make up the gut biome). The mere fact that we need new influenza vaccines every year should make it clear that exposure to flu virus does nothing to generate "multi-capable antibodies" . Yes, playing in dirt may build up the immune system's ability to handle bacterial loads, but no it has nothing to do with viruses. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 11:08, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

According to Taiwan National Infectious Disease Statistics System, the [https://nidss.cdc.gov.tw/en/SingleDisease.aspx?dc=1&dt=4&disease=487a&position=1 number of severe influenza cases in Taiwan] was 109 on week 1 of 2020, then drop to zero since March. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.58|172.69.34.58]] 04:54, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

Based on the railroad's Twitter feed which announces when service is suspended because someone got hit by a train, it seems that deaths from being hit by trains are down where I live. I'd expect some reduction in accidental deaths due to fewer trains per day running. However, the reduction in deaths is greater than the reduction in train service, so that's not the full explanation, especially since most of the deaths were suicides.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.250|108.162.215.250]] 05:27, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
: Has the general rate of suicide changed? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:35, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
:: In Finland the sucide rate has been up [https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11351803 15% this spring].

Was this comic posted a day late? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.130.10|172.69.130.10]] 11:36, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
:No. But the DGBRt bot that uploads the comic is in the wrong time zone and there it was May 14th. But in the archive on xkcd it is listed as a May 13 release. I have corrected the wrong date. This has happened with two comics now over the last few releases. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:11, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

Current transcript indicates he is shouting the "no" in the last frame. I read this significantly more as an extremely forceful spoken word, not so much "THIS IS SPARTA!" [[User:OhFFS|OhFFS]] ([[User talk:OhFFS|talk]]) 16:04, 14 May 2020 (UTC)
:Agree. Fixed. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 21:21, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

I AM THE DREAD FAUCET ROBERTS. THERE WILL BE ''NO SURVIVORS''! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.67|108.162.250.67]] 00:45, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

In the end, the only way to eliminate it *finally,* for good, is either almost everyone has immunity, or social distancing, contact tracing and similar measures. No matter how difficult. If immunity doesn't last long, then you've got a permanent problem unless social distancing can be maintained INDEFINITELY. And I want to point out that the problem becomes not just permanent but gains the potential to kill faster than people can breed. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.251|108.162.246.251]] 10:26, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

Now it seems there are correlations between antibodies to common colds and to C-19

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2820%2930610-3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=CampaignMonitor_Editorial&utm_campaign=LNCH%20%2020200515%20%20Facebook%20%20SM+CID_262b5ad3cf7ba8cf30318d3392774724

What the fuck. Respirational viruses are NOT spread via contact/smear infections. It is theoretically possible, if you finger sth that a sick person freshly coughed on, and directly dig your nose afterwards. You certainly get measels this way, where twenty or thirty virus particles are enough to give you a 50% chance to catch an infection, BUT NOT coronaviruses, where you need to breathe in ten thousands of particles for the same effect.

Dear Mr. Monroe, it is disgusting to now read this fakenews from your comic. Handwashing is good against all sorts of gastrointestinal maladies. Which is why hospitals are so strict on it. One day of diarrhoea and fluid loss is a deadly threat to anyone with a weakened body. But this has nothing to do with the flu or covid-19. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.33|162.158.93.33]] 18:16, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

1483: Quotative Like

2019-05-10T08:36:25Z

162.158.93.33: /* There is a citation needed for the claim that the younger generation is guaranteed to outlive the older generation. */

{{comic
| number = 1483
| date = February 6, 2015
| title = Quotative Like
| image = quotative_like.png
| titletext = God was like, "Let there be light," and there was light.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions an article on the use of the word "{{w|Like#As a colloquial quotative|like}}" as a {{w|quotative}}. [[Cueball]] makes a joke on this by managing to use the word "like" three times in a seven word sentence.

The "quotative like" is regularly given as an example of the decline of the English language. It is used to introduce a quotation or impersonation, although what follows may not be a verbatim quote, but rather conveys the general meaning of the original phrase. Although it is modern in terms of the English language, examples of its use can be found all the way back in 1928. The song "[http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/loudon_wainwright_iii/cobwebs.html Cobwebs]" by the American singer-songwriter {{w|Loudon Wainwright III}} blames {{w|Jack Kerouac}} and ''{{w|The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis}}'' character {{w| Maynard G. Krebs}} for starting the vogue of using the word "like" as a quotative. In the early 1980s, the stereotypical {{w|Valley Girl}} made substantial use of the quotative like, which may be the main origin of its contemporary use.

In the second panel Megan mentions that, in a [http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/01/25/linguists-are-like-get-used/ruUQoV0XUTLDjx72JojnBI/story.html newspaper article], the {{w|linguist}} [https://faculty.unt.edu/editprofile.php?pid=1485 Patricia Cukor-Avila] is like: "Eventually all the people who hate this kind of thing are going to be dead, and the ones who use it are going to be in control."

While it has long been popular to criticize modern developments that are seen as steps backward (see [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]]), such criticisms are almost always in vain, as they are typically made by the older generation against the younger generation, and the latter is always guaranteed to outlive the former.{{Citation needed}}

The quote, however, doesn't actually say ''why'' the older generation will die out, leading Cueball to speculate that Dr. Cukor-Avila is plotting (or warning of) some sort of {{w|genocide}} against people who dislike the use of the quotative like. Megan points out a much more likely interpretation (although this is not mentioned directly in the article), that those people will die of old age, but Cueball persists, saying he'll err on the side of caution and make sure to use the quotative like more often, thereby hoping to be spared from the genocide.

The title text applies quotative like to the {{w|Book of Genesis}} (specifically, {{w|Genesis 1:3}}: "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light"), the first book of the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament. When researching the history of language {{w|Etymology|etymologists}} take great effort to find the earliest usage of a word or phrase, which may be used to show a historical precedence.

==Transcript==
:[Megan referring to a published article she is holding.]
:Megan: I found this article on the linguistics of the "Quotative Like".
:Cueball: Like, when you're like, "She was like"?
:Megan: Yeah.
:Megan: It features a quote from a linguist, Patricia Cukor-Avila: "Eventually all the people who hate this kind of thing are going to be dead, and the ones who use it are going to be in control."
:Cueball: Wow. Turns out linguists are pretty hardcore.
:Megan: I ''think'' she means dead from old age.
:Cueball: I'm gonna start using "like" more, just in case.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]

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Talk:2306: Common Cold

1483: Quotative Like