The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-07-20

his column.
of wellbeing, your inspiration,
your working ability. Maybe you
are q leptosome, as the scientists
say. In other words, do you have
barometer blues?
In Italy when the hot sirocco
wind blows over the country from
the parched African mainland, the
number Of crimes of violence rise.
And the prevalence of such wealth
er conditions is actually used as a
defense in murder trials. II tenn
porarily takes away the mind"
so the people say.
In my native land Of the middle
west between the Alleghanies and
the Rockies in the months of July,
August and September we have a
continuous sirocco set Of condi-
tons.
Reactions to Hot Weather
There are, of course, all kinds Of
people and some claim to like hot
weather. They say they thrive on
it and do their best work in the
summer. Personally / can only
look at them with doubt and
despair. l am a cold weather man
myself. ! can plan work when the
cold winds blow and dream that I
may some day complete my great
opus on diagnosis.
But from May to October in the
beautiful land of Missouri it is
quite job to get me to drag my
self to the supper table, let alone
anything else. "Any country" as
Jim Lane, of Kansas, once said,
(which is good for corn is bad for
human beings"
II has been supposed that the
thyroid gland has something to do
with these individual differences.
We know that the thyroid is the
energy regulator of the body. The
person with an overactive thyroid
is always warm, throws the bed
clothes of in cold weather and
perspires on New Years Day.
while the low thyroid secretor is
always chilly, the extreme exam
pie being the myxoedema patient
who wears flannel underwear ~
July.
But above such personal varia-
tions the mass of mankind reacts
more or less the same to weather
changes. Huntington, one of the
earliest students of the subject Of
weather, made a study Of several
thousand mill operatives in New
England and in the Southern
States and also of LOO students
at Annapolis and West Point. His
measurement of efficiency was
productivenes and he found that
a maximum temperature of 60 F.
and minimum Of 3S F. is the most
favorable for the maximum effort.
Above and below those points
(outside temperature) production
dropped. Humidity, wind move
ment and especially temperature
changeableness from day TO, day
were also factors.
Sensible Summer Clothing
While our comfort or discomfort
in hot weather depends upon those
four factors-temperature humid
ity, barometric pressure and air
movement-we have defense mech
anism against only one of them
temperature. But our bodies have
not nearly as good cooling systems
as our automobiles.
Modern ways Of life have done
a great deal to adjust US to the
American summers. Not only the
electric fan and the air cooling
systems, but all our clothing and
our food, and the amount of work
we do. And sunstroke, once an
every day occurrence in any city
IN the summer, - now a rarity.
Our fathers and mothers used TO
initiate the English and wear coats
and stiff collars all summer.
l am for shirts with short
sleeves as de rigeur for men in
summer. And | am strong for
Stacks and shorts and bras and
bare stomachs for the girls-at
dinner parties or anywhere. Let's
face facts-summer is hell in the
United States. Chronic diseases all
fare up in the summer-tubercu-
losis, diabetes, heart disease. Dress
light, eat light, drink light, think
light. Don't try to push your poor
old hot mind into the creation Of q
masterpiece. II summers here can
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