This week, I’m examining the idea of whether you will catch a cold if you’re not wearing enough clothes. In an Instagram poll, 24 percent of participants said it was fact, while 76 percent said it was fiction, but who is right?

Also in this issue: Is age or mileage more important when you’re buying a used car, and the best butters for every occasion.

THE BIG STORY:

‘Gesundheit’

It is, I regret to inform you, cold season. It is the season of sniffling and congestion and rubbing your nose raw. It is that dreaded period when you are forced to play the game of “is this COVID-19, the flu, or a cold?” whenever you feel unwell.

It is also that time of the year when my grandfather used to tell me whenever I sneezed to wear more layers. “You’ll catch a cold like this,” he would say forebodingly. He was of a generation who believed young people were tempting fate with their wardrobe choices and that the cure-all of all maladies was a good winter jacket.

But was he right? Will I catch a cold from not wearing enough clothes?

QUIZ

Which holiday food is healthier: ham or roast beef?

(The answer’s at the end of the newsletter.)

THE GOOD STUFF

What you should know before you buy a cheap TV: 

@consumerreports An inexpensive TV is no bargain if the picture quality disappoints you. See ratings and reviews at cr.org/tv #techtok #tv #shoppingtips #tvtech ♬ original sound - Consumer Reports

And here are the best TVs of 2022 (available to CR members), including a few that cost less than $1,000.

LET ME QUICKLY BUST A MYTH FOR YOU

Here’s a question: Can you buy a self-driving car if you want to?

The answer is no. There are no fully self-driving cars available to individual buyers today. While half of the car models on sale now offer some form of lane centering assistance and adaptive cruise control, they don’t qualify as “self-driving cars” because the driver is still expected to pay attention. Even Cadillac models that are equipped with GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driving ability have a camera that monitors whether the driver is paying attention. The system eventually disengages if it senses that the driver is not watching the road. 

The same goes for Tesla cars. Despite offering a high-priced option of features called Full Self-Driving, Tesla cars still aren’t fully autonomous vehicles because they still require a driver to steer, brake, or accelerate as needed.

Have a question about something that you aren’t sure is myth or fact? Send me a question and it might be featured in Smarter.

GONNA SLEEP ON THIS

Source: Nickelodeon/”SpongeBob SquarePants”/Giphy Source: Nickelodeon/”SpongeBob SquarePants”/Giphy

Today I learned that you can’t judge a sheet by its thread count. Or more precisely, thread count isn’t a reliable indicator of performance.

QUIZ ANSWER

If you choose a leaner cut, roast beef is healthier than ham because the latter can be very high in sodium. Also, the nitrates and nitrites in spiral hams can trigger potentially carcinogenic compounds when they interact with protein.

What about apple pie vs. pumpkin pie? You can read more about which holiday foods are healthier here.

"The cold never bothered me anyway."

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Pang-Chieh Ho

I'm a newsletter writer who likes looking into the different ways we can live smarter. The topics I cover typically explore unanswered questions we have about the products we use every day and bridge the gaps between what owners' manuals advise and what we actually do. In my spare time, I like to take photos, critique movies out loud while I watch (at home!), and take care of my ever-increasing plant "children."