27th April 2005, 9:47 PM
Smoke-X Wrote:I learned that you get wetter by running in the rain than by walking.
That sounded interesting, so I googled it to find out more about it. I came across this:
Quote:Thomas Peterson and Trevor Wallis of the National Climatic Data Center, writing in the meteorological journal Weather, also tackled the running vs. walking controversy. "We decided to deal with this with scientific rigor. We did an experiment," Peterson was quoted as saying in Health magazine.
The magazine goes on to describe the experiment: "One rainy day the two men donned identical sweat suits and hats, which they'd weighed before the test. For added accuracy, they wore plastic garbage bags underneath the sweat suits to keep their underclothes from wicking away any water. They then set out through the downpour on a 100-meter course. Wallas ran; Peterson walked.
"When they finished, the men weighed their clothes again to find out how much water they'd soaked up. Peterson's had absorbed about seven and half ounces, while Wallis's sopped up only four and a half."
(from The Straight Dope)
Maybe they should have a Myth-busters-busters show. :p