As a few of my colleagues are flying back and forth from New Hampshire, what better time to talk about airplane germs. Last month, the Wall Street Journal confirmed our suspicions that flying really can make you sick. “Air travelers suffer higher rates of disease infection, research has shown,” writes the Journal‘s Scott McCartney. “One study pegged the increased risk for catching a cold as high as 20 percent…. One well-known study in 1979 found that when a plane sat three hours with its engines off and no air circulating, 72 percent of the 54 people on board got sick within two days. The flu strain they had was traced to one passenger.” For those who start to itch and fidget when reading such stats, you should probably stop reading this.

As for the rest of you,