Sweat is cool! Trust us. The more you sweat, the cooler you’ll be. Mind you, we didn’t say sweat is attractive-for that, you need clear skin, symmetrical profile, and a high-tech device subtly planted in a conspicuous pocket.
Sweat is one of the ways the human body regulates its temperature. Otherwise, after a jog in the park, we would rapidly overheat to frightening consequences. As the layer of sweat evaporates into the air, our body sheds that extra heat and cools down. This cycle of regulation is called homeostasis. Here are some really cool (awesome-cool!) facts about how other living organisms regulate their temperature:
- Snakes are cold-blooded and have no internal mechanism for temperature regulation. Put them in the sunlight, and their metabolism speeds up; put them in the shade and they will cool down; put them in the cold, and they get slow and sluggish. Imagine if we were completely dependent on our external climate for our energy!
- Some birds, such as vultures, excrete waste onto their legs and as this coating dries, it speeds up evaporation and cools down their body temperature. So, if you pet birds, keep that hand sanitizer close by.
- Pigs, hippos, boars and buffaloes don’t have the ability to sweat like higher primates. Wallowing in the mud follows a similar principle to bird poop. As it dries, it conducts and evaporates body heat. In fact, they can lose over 3° as the mud dries on their bodies.
- Dogs, and even some birds, pant to lose heat. They quickly breathe in cool air and expel hotter air. While you jog in the park, notice all those panting, wagging dogs.
- Did you know, that while cats and dogs sweat to lose heat, much of their sweat is excreted through their paws. Now, where is the paw deodorant?
- Fascinatingly, some animals, like lungfish and snails, sleep through scorching degrees of heat, giving a whole new twist to hibernation in the summer.
Last, but not least, is our very own Quilo 3in1 Evaporative Air Cooler! While not classified as a living organism, we think it’s awesome-cool. Through its evaporative superpowers, it can regulate the temperature in your room and prevent it from overheating.
