Kites
Permanent link to this comic:
https://xkcd.com/1614/
Image URL (for hotlinking/embedding):
https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/kites.png
The Worst Part About Colds
[[Chart.
X-axis equals days. Y axis has "fine" at 0, "bad" at 1, and "The worst" at 2.
Below graph, "sore throat" is indicated from day 0 to 2, "skin crawling" from 0.5 to 3, "aching" from 2 to 3.5, "cough" from 3.5 to 8, "hoarseness" from 4.5 to 8.
Above graph, "need sympathy" is from 0.5 to 3, while "get sympathy" is from 3.5 to 8.
A line indicating "how bad you feel" starts at "fine" at 0 days, swoops up to above "the worst" by day 2, and drops down to between "bad" and "fine" by day 3, and continues to ease off.
A line indicating "how bad you sound" starts at "fine", but does not rise much until day 3.5, peaking sharply at day 5, and diminishing slowly afterwards.]]
{{Title text: The contagious period ends right around when you start to sound sick over the phone, which is probably evidence of cold viruses evolving to spread optimally in the workplace.}}