Joan Avoids a Cold offers dated and sometimes hilarious advice about how to protect yourself from other’s germs. Joan and her brother go through a typical day, where Joan does everything right and her brother constantly screws up. On their walk to school, Joan avoids the puddles, but her brother jumps in them like a normal kid. He also shares food with someone at school, which Joan frowns upon. Now, swimming with other people’s germs, and sitting in sopping wet socks, Joan’s brother begins to show signs of a cold. The teacher sends him to the nurse, whose office sports a sign that reads "Bodies, like buildings, should keep erect." After noticing the wet feet and taking his temperature, the nurse declares him sick and calls his mother. Mom takes the added precautions of boiling his dishes after he’s eaten and making him spit into the toilet instead of the bathroom sink when he’s brushing his teeth, so that no one else will catch his cold. Other scenes include kids being dosed with cod liver oil, and children dressed in traditional Dutch costumes doing folk dances. This is a bizarre and fun vintage film.