2714: Cold Complaints - Revision history

185.93.1.212: i hunger

2025-10-30T22:11:30Z

i hunger

172.70.254.89: alternative explanation of the joke, as discussed in the comments

2024-12-24T18:09:25Z

alternative explanation of the joke, as discussed in the comments

TheusafBOT: Reverted edit 333455 by Jupitah to 306380

2024-01-24T13:41:15Z

Reverted edit 333455 by Jupitah to 306380

Jupitah at 13:41, 24 January 2024

2024-01-24T13:41:08Z

172.70.85.225: /* Transcript */ Sleep bubbles? Well, as long as we're mentioning, this is my version.

2023-02-16T22:51:15Z

‎Transcript: Sleep bubbles? Well, as long as we're mentioning, this is my version.

No Idea If There's A Character Limit LMAO: Fixed the transcript, deleted tag.

2023-02-16T22:26:07Z

Fixed the transcript, deleted tag.

172.71.167.113: partial quotations that fit into the larger sentence as if it were all one piece are not set off by commas

2022-12-23T23:19:35Z

partial quotations that fit into the larger sentence as if it were all one piece are not set off by commas

172.70.85.244: /* Explanation */

2022-12-23T09:44:21Z

‎Explanation

172.71.166.86: /* Explanation */ Mentioned why someone might think that whining would work

2022-12-23T07:55:27Z

‎Explanation: Mentioned why someone might think that whining would work

172.71.158.6: /* Explanation */ Paxlovid is effective!

2022-12-22T21:17:29Z

‎Explanation: Paxlovid is effective!

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:11, 30 October 2025
Line 12:		Line 12:

	When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w\|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.		When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w\|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.
		+
		+	Hairy's actions might be attempting to stimulate {{w\|Sickness behavior}}, an actual response by the human body that makes a sick person depressed and anxious in order to stimulate the immune system.

	Alternatively, Hairy might be making up the doctor's advice to justify his behavior. This interpretation adds to the humor by suggesting that Hairy is pretending a medical professional told him to act like a baby to excuse his exaggerated complaints. The off-screen person's doubt highlights how absurd his claim is. This fits with XKCD's typical humor, which often mixes rational and absurd elements.		Alternatively, Hairy might be making up the doctor's advice to justify his behavior. This interpretation adds to the humor by suggesting that Hairy is pretending a medical professional told him to act like a baby to excuse his exaggerated complaints. The off-screen person's doubt highlights how absurd his claim is. This fits with XKCD's typical humor, which often mixes rational and absurd elements.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:09, 24 December 2024
Line 12:		Line 12:

	When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w\|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.		When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w\|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.
		+
		+	Alternatively, Hairy might be making up the doctor's advice to justify his behavior. This interpretation adds to the humor by suggesting that Hairy is pretending a medical professional told him to act like a baby to excuse his exaggerated complaints. The off-screen person's doubt highlights how absurd his claim is. This fits with XKCD's typical humor, which often mixes rational and absurd elements.

	This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w\|COVID-19}}, {{w\|influenza}}, and {{w\|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have readily available effective treatments, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)		This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w\|COVID-19}}, {{w\|influenza}}, and {{w\|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have readily available effective treatments, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{comic
-| number    = 1
+| number    = 2714
-| date      = January 1, 1
+| date      = December 21, 2022
-| title     = 1
+| title     = Cold Complaints
-| image     = 2.png
+| image     = cold_complaints.png
-| imagesize = 1x1px
+| imagesize = 740x254px
 | noexpand  = true
 | titletext = Our investigation into whining-based remedies became the first study to be halted by the IRB on the grounds that the treatment group was 'too annoying.'

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{comic
-| number    = 2714
+| number    = 1
-| date      = December 21, 2022
+| date      = January 1, 1
-| title     = Cold Complaints
+| title     = 1
-| image     = cold_complaints.png
+| image     = 2.png
-| imagesize = 740x254px
+| imagesize = 1x1px
 | noexpand  = true
 | titletext = Our investigation into whining-based remedies became the first study to be halted by the IRB on the grounds that the treatment group was 'too annoying.'

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen, with popped sleep bubbles coming from the left side of his head. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen speaking.]
+:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen, with unkempt hair, and a line of figurative bubbles emerge from the back of his head to indicate a muzzy feeling in his head. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen, speaking.]
 :Ponytail: Well, it's not COVID or flu. Probably one of the other viruses.
 :Hairy: Ughh

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
 When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.
@@ Line 19: / Line 18: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen speaking.]
+:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen, with popped sleep bubbles coming from the left side of his head. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen speaking.]
 :Ponytail: Well, it's not COVID or flu. Probably one of the other viruses.
 :Hairy: Ughh

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 {{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC WHINING BABY - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
-When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to, "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold," literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.
+When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold" literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it. Given xkcd's humor in the past, this may be supposed to trick the cold virus into thinking that it has not had a lot of time to evolve to infect human cells effectively so that it does not infect Hairy's cells as effectively.
-This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have readily available effective treatments, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that, "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)
+This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have readily available effective treatments, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)
 The title text describes a similar study, but where the {{w|institutional review board}} (IRB) halted the study because the participants were too annoying. This is ironic since they were supposed to whine annoyingly for the sake of the experiment. IRBs are expected to review the ethics of a research project, with particular attention paid to the well-being of the subjects. Whining is not usually considered dangerous,{{citation needed}} but in this case it was presumably so intolerable to the Board (or perhaps the control group, who were presumably forbidden from whining while sick) that they had to put a stop to it.

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common stereotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Hairy]] spoke via a {{w|telehealth}} appointment to [[Ponytail]], a medical professional who explicitly advised him to act out, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes her advice to, "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold," literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it.
-This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, none of which have a cure (or at least one that is worth taking), other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that, "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)
+This comic was published during a "tripledemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which do not have cures, other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids (provided that symptoms do not require hospitalization). It expounds on the finding that, "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health." (Kowalski, R.M. (2002) [http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf "Whining, griping, and complaining: positivity in the negativity"] ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' '''58'''(9):1023–35.)
 The title text describes a similar study, but where the {{w|institutional review board}} (IRB) halted the study because the participants were too annoying. This is ironic since they were supposed to whine annoyingly for the sake of the experiment. IRBs are expected to review the ethics of a research project, with particular attention paid to the well-being of the subjects. Whining is not usually considered dangerous,{{citation needed}} but in this case it was presumably so intolerable to the Board (or perhaps the control group, who were presumably forbidden from whining while sick) that they had to put a stop to it.