I'm sorry, this is gross but I just HAVE to comment on it. MSNBC reported on a study of the nations sweatiest cities here, and we in the soggy southeast have to respond: Phoenix? NOT!
Here are the top 5:
1. Phoenix, Ariz.
2. Las Vegas, Nev.
3. Tallahassee, Fla.
4. Tucson, Ariz.
5. Memphis, Tenn.
OK, they did select Tallahassee and Memphis (which was nasty even when I was there in late September, for heaven's sake) but all these desert towns? They explain the study by saying they measured the sweat produced, not the sogginess of the inhabitants. Now, I've been to Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tucson, and the ferocious heat and low humidity guarantee that you may be sweating but not a drop reaches your clothing, because it evaporates as soon as it hits your skin (that evaporative cooling being the only reason you don't keel over, probably). If you're sweating but your clothes don't get damp it just isn't as uncomfortable as when you have to walk around fairly dripping on the sidewalk.
Middle and eastern Tennessee made the list down in the 30's and 40's, but for sheer miserableness they should be higher. And the South Carolina and Georgia coasts? They're down in the 30's too, but I drove through there in June once and about died. Heck, go stand around downtown Atlanta in August and see how you feel. I spent a morning at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix some years ago, and other than the liberal amounts of sunscreen I drowned myself in I was very comfortable at 95 degrees. When it's 95 degrees here, I don't even go outside.
They're definitely measuring the wrong thing. What should be investigated is the amount of water your clothing absorbs in an hour. Chattanooga, we're No. 1! We're No. 1!
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2 comments:
The sweatiest place I have ever been was Ridge Spring, SC (near Aiken). I swear it was so hot and humid that it gave me a headache. I lived in Chesapeake, Virginia for 25 years so I know heat & humidity. South Carolina melted me!! Anyone who lives in the desert towns tells you the heat isn't so bad because it is a "dry heat". Humidity makes you feel like you have a big, hot, wet blanket thrown on you. Iccckkk!!
I find so many arguments with "official" news items they slip in between REAL news, I finally just turn the darned TV off and do something elce. I think they say some of that stuff on purpose just to get the viewer upset. Why? dunno - I'm not in that line of work.
The term "sweatiest" is just so full of holes, you need an accompanying booklet to explain the term.
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