Don’t Catch That Cold!

Now scientists were sure: Colds spread through germ-filled drops in the air. But could they prove it?

Close-up Contamination

The year was 1950, and the man was Sir Christopher Andrews of the Common Cold Research Unit in Salisbury, England. To prove the colds-spread-through-the-air theory, 12 volunteers were quarantined on an empty island off Scotland for ten weeks, after which six sick people were brought in. First, the sick folks had to sit in an empty room for three hours, sneezing and blowing their noses. After they left, four of the healthy volunteers sat in this germy room for a few hours.

Next, the runny-nosed invaders were brought to a second room, where the next four healthy people were waiting, and all sat all together for a few hours. Sir Christopher and his team made sure the germ droplets had travelled all around the room before they let everyone out.

Finally, the sick people were brought to a separate house where they lived and ate together with the last four healthy people for three days. The healthy people were closely observed for the colds they were certainly going to get –— except that, to Sir Christopher’s astonishment, not one of them got sick!