From the Why Didn't Anyone Think of This Before Department comes this: An interactive website that tracks local outbreaks of common ailments, such as colds, allergies, and flu bugs.

The site, Who Is Sick? [1], is designed to inform the average person about whether there's a bug going around in your neighborhood or city. Using a Google map program, people can anonymously record their symptoms based on locations to provide a snapshot view of their community's health.

Among other things, this enables someone to check the site the next time that they experience a bout of nausea and can't tell if it's a minor stomach upset -- or something more serious. Or those who may be curious about the spread of colds and such have the option to use a search engine and filter sicknesses by symptoms, sex, age, and, of course, location.

Entering the information also seems fairly simple. Users simply click a rudimentary list of symptoms -- cough, runny nose, fever, headache [1], muscle aches, stomach ache.

Then a pie chart appears to represent those symptoms, enabling everyone see what they may be at risk of catching the next time someone sneezes. And the limited number of symptons indicate that the site is focused on common, everyday viruses and bugs, rather than more serious diseases.

Still, the site is not intended to be used for self-diagnosis, according to its creator. Instead, he hopes that one day, this grass-roots type information about the spread of disease will assist the Centers for Disease Control. (And for the record, physicians have expressed reservations [2] about the concept of the site, because patients may not seek treatment in a timely manner.) It can also help travelers get a lay of the land.

For instance, I'm heading up to Seattle soon, and I checked on the interactive map to get a sense of the city's health. I also wanted to know my odds for leaving Seattle without coming down with a nasty summer cold.

A quick peek revealed that right now, Seattlites are reporting a smattering of each symptoms. But because the symptoms vary, it's easy to see that an outbreak of stomach flu hasn't gripped the city.

And I'm more confident that I won't need to load up on flu-fighting supplements [2] to emerge from my trip without catching a cold.