Evening star., 1932-09-06
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Experts who profess to know better
how to live in hot weather than mere
| mortals vie with one another In hand
ing out 'hot weather hints"
Most of these so-called hints are
either worthless or of rudimentary cali
ber. facts and fancies known to most
people, and practiced by some.
The truth seems to be that keeping
cool is nobody's patent.
1t Is a happy combination Of physical
and mental temperaments, ruthlesSly
combined with equal parts of time, cir
cumstance and surroundings.
Environment, in the last analysis, has
q great deal to do with it.
All dressed up in a public building
where there is no cooling system a suf-
fering mortal might be expected to feel
the heat terribly.
If the spectacle before him is Of
sufficient interest, however, he may
forget the heat" as the saying Is, and
really be far cooler than If he were at
home, even in scanty clothing, with
nothing to do but fuss and fume"
about the state of the weather.
On the other hand-and this Is no
inconsiderable "hand'-there is no
getting away from the physical causes
of suffering from heat.
Not only does prior constitution Of
all the bodily processes. in the individ-
ual case, figure largely in the sum total
of heat and resistance to heat, as 1t
affects human beings, but also the
physical surroundings naturally have
great deal to do with it.
The Office worker, say in one Of our
government departments, who finds
himself literally gasping for air in some
old building, all of Summers after
noon Is perfectly correct in his re-
action.
No amount Of concentration on the
work before him will rid his face Of
the feeling of heat which bathes it, or
his skin of the hot-house temperature
maintained between it and his clothing.
Real measures to combat excessive
Summer heat must rest. in the last
analysis, not on such rules as deliber-
ately drinking hot drinks, to make one
sweat, but upon combination of all
measures which will tend to attack the
problem all along the line.
II one could drink hot coffee In a
nudist cult, and have plenty Of towels
handy for drying purposes. such a
procedure might have some sense to it,
but for a city worker who has had a
nice BATH clean linen. and cool break
fast to subject himself to this hot drink
program is nothing short OF absurd on
a hot morning.
It is not the way to keep cool. and the
common sense of mankind knows it.
Perspiration at the daily task is the
lot of the manual worker in any Of the
essential tasks which are necessary for
the good ordering of society as We
know 1t.
Heavy perspiration helps keep him
cool, but not so much can be said for
the same for the so-called white collar
man, whose best bet in hot weather is
to keen as motionless as he can.
This is not gospel of laziness, in any
sense, but merely one Of common sense,
seeing that motion is what produces
heat, and right easily, too, when the
temperature stands up in the great 90s.
How wonderful Is creation, one may
think, In keeping even the hottest days
not much over 100 degrees in the shade !!
What would city mankind do, If nor
NAL Summer temperatures went up to
100 or $50 degrees?
1t Is not q pleasant prospect. II such
temperatures occurred suddenly, thour-
sands would die, no doubt Of that; II
brought about gradually, many would
escape but still the suffering would be
immense.
He who minds heat, as sampled last
week, will be grateful that 1t was no
more at the same time he makes up
his mind as to the best ways for his in
dividual self-protection.
He probably will find, II he Is an Of
flee worker Of any sort, that the wear
ing of the thinest and lightest type Of
clothing Is helpful, and that outer coats
are best removed while doing certain
sorts of office work.
One Of these is operating typewriter.
It is astonishing the amount Of heat
generated in the human body by the
apparently easy and simple expedient