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Mystery #2Tier 2crowds and spread

Why does illness race through a packed school or busy city so quickly?

Notice how a cold seems to tear through a packed classroom, while the same week the quiet house next door stays perfectly well. Same germ, wildly different speed. What is it about a crowd that lets an illness spread so much faster?

A railway platform packed with people standing shoulder to shoulder under a low roof, waiting for a train
Photo: Nori Norisa · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

Why do you reckon a germ spreads so much faster when lots of people are packed together?

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