I’ve always been suspicious of coughing. Sure, there are times when you choke on something or you breathe in some fuzz and your body takes over to dislodge whatever the problem is from your windpipe.
And we all get colds and flus, and those bring along the infamous “tickle” in the throat that makes it hard not to react. But, in general, I always felt like most coughs could be suppressed by the cougher if they were out in public or, more importantly, places where the explosive sudden bursts of air from our lungs would be disruptive and annoying. Live theater, anyone? Coughs in an audience seem to be as contagious as yawns on a subway—someone gives everyone else the idea and suddenly no one can resist the urge to follow suit.
