h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Put on you jumper or you'll catch a cold".
I tried to argue this one with my mother hundreds of times but to no avail. My argument was that a cold is a virus and there is no earthly reason why a virus should home in on you just because it sees that you haven't got your woollies on! I have since found that I was right all the time as research has shown that the only reason for the increase of colds in cold weather is due to the fact that viruses spread more effectively in indoor conditions.

I am still told that I will catch a death of cold by walking around with wet hair to which my reply is always that it's a wonder the human race survived before the invention of the hairdryer!

I used the same argument on my mother, prior to taking a long trip into the scottish mountains, based on the "there's no chance of catching a cold, since 1. I will not be in warm stagnant air that viri love, 2. I will not be surrounded by other people carrying viri, and 3. I will be in the middle of nowhere in the cold, and what viri would want to live there anyway?.

Suffice to say, 3 days after arriving, I got stuck in a blizzard, got very cold and wet, and immediately caught the flu.

Damn those mothers and their wily ways.

Are you sure you didn't catch a chill after all it isn't a virus and so is far easier to develop in cold weather?

More than likely, but I fear that "she who must be revered and phoned on a regular basis" wouldn't see the distinction there. What is the medical cause of "a chill" anyway? What bit if a chill makes you ill?

And anyone who says "the last 3 letters" gets pie thrown at them.

There is a reason why you caught a cold/flu after exposure to the elements. The effect of the intense cold plus being wet may have lowered your body's resistance to infection, making you more susceptible to the bugs. So, as far as I'm concerned, it's still "Yah boo sucks!" to your mum.

My husband and his family are convinced that taking copious quantities of vitamin C prevents you from catching a cold. The scientific evidence for this is somewhat scanty and therefore, in my opinion, it classes as an old wives' tale.

Same, my Dad swears my vitamin C, and whenever I visit I invariably get given a tube of fizzy vit C to take home since"I'm obviously not looking after myself". With my Mum, it's anything that can be squeezed out of the liver of a dead .

I think this one is similar to the other classic by which if you leave a door open or a window open or if there is any small opening through which air can enter a warm room, that you will catch a cold or something immeasurably more fearsome, ie bronchitis, arthritis, TB etc. It's ok to climb mountains in a force 8 gale, but if you are near a draught of cold air in a warm room, woe betide you.