Rainy Observation

As my review class ended, I proceeded to step outside of the room and get home. It was raining, although I know I would be able to get through it towards the train station. The roads were already full of puddles, indicating it had been raining for a while. Some of the paths I took were made of tiles... Which mainly spelled trouble for me since wet tiles = lots of potential to slip. So there I was, taking slow and small baby steps instead of my long and fast strides. As I struggled to keep myself balanced, I remembered an experiment I saw in TV.

It was about human balance and how quick the body makes computations and adjustments to keep us upright. The set up: a room with a bag full of weights in the middle. The participants were briefed in another room and were instructed to enter the set up room, walk towards the bag, grab the bag, keep walking and go back to the waiting room to discuss. So they went out, one by one, and did exactly that. They didn't know that the bag was full of weights so some of them had difficulty grabbing the bag but all of them somehow managed to fluidly do as instructed. They were again asked to do the same thing but this time the bag was empty. The twist, the participants didn't know that it was emptied! So one by one, out they went and one by one, they flipped the bag so high since they were expecting a heavy bag. It was funny but what's important here is that it can be clearly seen through the footage that the participants regained their balance in a split second. This kept on going through my mind as my mind and body tried to be synchronized. 5 near falls later, I was at the train station and I knew I was safe since the rest of the sidewalks I was going to take weren't slippery enough.

Another experiment that I remember during rainy days is the one done in the Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. After seeing this episode, I always told people that when you get caught in the rain, WALK, DON'T RUN!

===================
Myth: Is it Worth Running in the Rain?

You will stay drier if you run in the rain rather than walk in the rain. Adam has a different theory: If you walk in the rain you will be in the rain longer, but only your head and shoulders will get wet. If you run in the rain, you will pick up rain on your entire front side.

The Experts:

Heather Joseph-Witham, folklorist, helps explain the myth. She says it is practical advice: You should run in the rain and you won’t get as wet as walking.

Richard Hunter, manager of Mr. S Leather, helps Adam and Jamie pick out some latex body suits.

Thomas Peterson and Trevor Wallis, National Climatic Data Center, tested the myth during a rainstorm. They measured out an approximately 100-meter course and waited until a rainy day to test the myth. They wanted to determine the relative difference between walking and running. After the test, they weighed their clothing. They determined that the runner was 40% less wet than the walker.

Action/Results:

One of the most important aspects of this test is getting the right raindrop - the right size, the right velocity and an even spread. The test will consist of a 100-foot course with water falling a minimum of 60 feet. A raindrop will achieve a terminal velocity of 22 feet per second. The course will be built in an aircraft hangar. Sprinklers are placed every 6 feet along a 150-foot run. A fire hydrant is used as the water source. The water is put into a holding tank and dyed red for visibility.

To measure the amount of rain that lands on the Mythbusters, they will wear cotton coveralls that weigh 757 grams each. Under the coveralls they will wear a latex body suit to ensure that their perspiration isn’t included in the final weight. The course is set up to produce 2 to 3 inches of rain per hour. Jamie and Adam each will go through the course 4 times, once walking, once running, once walking with fans used to simulate wind and finally once running with fans used to simulate wind.

When the coveralls are weighed, the ones worn when they walked turn out to be lighter than the coveralls that they ran in. It is better to walk in the rain than to run.

MYTH: BUSTED
===================

But as I was preparing to write this post, I came across another episode of the Mythbusters where they revisited past myths due to viewers' reactions...

===================
Myth: Which will make you wetter, walking or running in the rain?

Initial Results:

You get wetter in the rain if you run.

What the Critics Said:

Because "real" rain was not used, the test was invalid

Setup:

Jaime and Adam wait for 'real' rain, don their latex suits with the cotton overalls & caps. The overalls and caps are weighed before hand so that they can determine how much water was absorbed.

Test:

They begin the initial test by walking in the rain. However, the rain stops before they are able to complete the testing.

The test is reset with Grant and Tory; they prepare by wearing the same latex, pre-weighed overalls, and caps as Jaime and Adam had. However, in this test one will walk while the other runs at the same time so they are both exposed to the same rainfall.

The first test indicated that Tory's clothes were lighter than when he began. The rain volume was not enough to overcome the margin of error. However, the rain increases and they repeat the test. They completed a series of six different runs.

Result:

The runner gets less wet than the walker does. On Average, they collected 4 grams less water than the walker did.

MYTH: CONFIRMED! It is better to run than walk in the rain.
===================

Now, all I can say is, RUN! BUT BE CAREFUL, YOU MIGHT SLIP!