h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do I get more wet if I run through the rain than if I walk?

Yes.

Ta

Anytime.

I talked to someone about this during lunch, and it's accually been prooven, you're right, it's better to walk than running in the rain.

So what do you do if you have to work in it...

...Yeah I know...you get wet...

Of course you do. When you run, more raindrops will fall on you each second, than if you were walking

In addition, while running, you get a greater area wet in vertical rain, it's like running into numerous sheets of water.

wear a rain suit.

Yeah..
Though, it you're going for a longer distance, you'll get so wet that it won't make any difference whether you're walking or running... you'll be dripping of water anyway.
bbrrr!

do Humans have a saturation point? Is so, what is it?

When it comes to being wet?
I dunno.. If there is one I would say : when a raindrop hits you but can't make you wet because there already is another raindrop there.

I would imagine it has to be more than that. If something becomes saturated, it means it cannot accept any more fluid. As that 'extra raindrop' you mention would be perfectly capable of adding it's weight to the human form, then that human would not be 'saturated' as such, just incredibly wet. Your clothes/skin would still be able to absorb that moisture.

It's a horrible thought, but I think the human level of saturation would work alongside the same premises as a water filled ballon bursting.

Well... better stay out of the rain, then!
I think the human body can take quite much water, though.. I mean, people swim without bursting like a water balloon, so if there is a saturating level, it had to be qutie difficult to reach

Do parrots have a saturation point and, if they do, are the ones drier than it polyunsaturated?

3

To be honest, I don't know a lot about parrots.. I'm allergic to feathers, so I can experiment with birds.
And they are noisy aswell...

I read an article in the last few days that said that a grant had been paid of 20,000 pound to actually find out the answer to the question. The research showed that if you run to the bus-stop in the rain you dont get as wet. I think if you take the rainfall to be constant then it just depends on the time you are in the rain. i.e if you crawled to the bus-stop you'd be soaked. Me and my flatmates considered this for the majority of sunday afternoon and came to the conclusion that it would probably all fall down when considering wind direction, saturation etc. Maybe someone can give us a government grant?

This has been bothering me for ages - I read that you get 10% less wet if you walk in the rain, rather than run, but surely that would be affected by how far you had to go, how fast you walk/run and so forth.

Has anybody come across the research referred to by Slartibartfast?

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