Showers and bathing seem to have received more than their regular coverage during 2021, and it wasn’t only celebrities that talked about the frequency and necessity of cleaning. I am old, so I grew up with the ‘cleanliness next to godliness‘ in the literal sense. My generation never went to bed dirty and always wore good underwear ‘in case you are in an accident’. The upside is that nobody thought the accident would be horrible because the medical staff would have time to critique your undies.
My wee neighbour declared yesterday that he was done with showers in 2022 because they make you ‘more dirty’. December is summer in the southern hemisphere, and most of the festive holiday is spent next to water – pools, the ocean, lakes, etc. The youngsters spent so much time in the swimming pool that they had blue lips come 8 pm even with the hot weather. I sent them to the shower to rinse off the chlorine, and that sparked Dart’s 2022 resolution of no more showering: I was clean, I showered, and now I am sweating – so I am dirty now when I wasn’t dirty when I started, ergo, showering made me dirty.
The answer to this is more biology than math, but it has to do about numbers, so let’s give it a go!
Before we look at the number exchange, we need to know two things: Normal body temperature is around 37 degrees Celsius, and liquid is an excellent conduit of heat.
Our bodies know that 37 degrees Celsius is its happy place where everything works properly, so whenever we get hot or cold, our body will do whatever is needed to bring our temperature back to 37 degrees Celsius. The body is super smart, and it knows already that liquid is going to work much faster in getting this done than, e.g. gas – so better you sweat than fart (I know, I know, but I have a young audience here!). So the body’s secret weapon is sweat.
What would happen if you didn’t sweat? The same thing that happens to a car that has no water – you would overheat. Think of a plant that has been left in the sun without water, and the edges of the leaves are starting to die – the same thing will happen to your body. The cells on the edges would start dying and dying and dying.
Think of suitcases on a conveyer belt at the airport – the moment one goes sideways or get stuck, an alarm goes off, warning the staff to make a correction somewhere to ensure the smooth running of the conveyer belt. Dart’s body did the same thing. He had a hot shower. His body temperature increased, and the alarm bells went off. The body’s way of fixing that was to produce sweat to try and cool him down and bring his temperature back to 37 degrees Celsius.
PS: Dart now has a shower every 30 min, at a different temperature, to find his ‘happy place’ in terms of the shower temperature. Inquisitiveness is what will save the planet – and wipe out his parents’ savings account because of their water bill.
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