The projections are that California's Central Valley will be one of the hottest places in the country over the next few days as the heatwave takes hold of the weather. Over the traditional final summer weekend, "Sacramento could be near 110 degrees on Labor Day."
Back when I lived in that valley, of course I have experienced 100 degree days. However, I don't recall such hot days in September. But then anywhere on the planet the weather now is not what it used to be.
When I suffered in that Central Valley heat, I would often console myself that at least I didn't live in Phoenix or Las Vegas. The number of 100+ days where I lived was nothing compared to the conditions in those desert cities where summer news reports would include demonstrations of eggs being fried on pavements or on cars!
The people who live there always had a ready response: Hey, this is dry heat. As in heat without humidity.
Heat with humidity defines Chennai anytime of the year.
Chennai, like seemingly all the places on this planet, appears to be getting hotter and hotter every year. More than that heat itself, the humidity of this coastal city can suck the energy out of me in a matter of minutes. All I have to do is move just a little bit and I become a roaring fountain of sweat!
From the earliest years that I can remember I have been one hell of a sweaty pig. As a kid, if I got close enough to my grandmother that my skin rubbed against hers, she always commented about my sweaty sticky skin, which, I am sure, was no fun for her.
And when the sweaty skin is not washed off after a while ... man, oh man, do we stink!
Once, when my brother complained about the stinking sweat—not my sweat, but in general—my great-uncle, who was known for his richly sarcastic repartee, commented, “let me know when it smells wonderfully; I will bottle and sell it by the ounce.”
In the traditional Brahmin weddings that I have attended when younger, particularly in Pattamadai and Sengottai, the male guests were always welcomed with sandalwood paste that many generously applied on themselves; there is an immediate cooling effect, and the sandalwood masks any stink from the sweat. It was a social ritual that effectively eliminated body odors in large gatherings and, instead, spread the pleasing scent of sandalwood. Women wore plenty of flowers, jasmine in particular, which also played a phenomenal role in masking the natural odors that result from life in the tropical heat and humidity.
As much as I complain about sweating, I understand the wonderful role that it plays in cooling the body and nourishing the skin. A natural moisturizer that keeps the skin healthy, as long as the grime is regularly washed away.
What I didn't know about sweat is the role it plays in promoting the good bacteria on the skin: It prevents skin problems, like eczema, and protects from dangerous infections such as MRSA, which is found in hospitals around the world and is the leading cause of skin infections in the U.S.
No kidding!
Apparently there is also a personalization of the bacteria on the skin:
"The human skin has almost 200 different species of bacteria living on it," says biologist Teruaki Nakatsuji at the University of California, San Diego. "And each person has different strains of these bacteria. So the skin microbiota is so diverse."
These bacteria--especially in our armpits and around the genitals--produce intense stink. And because we have different bacteria, our stinks are also different. Some stink like onions while others stink like cumin!
That godawful stink producers--staphylococcus hominins--are also the ones that protect "our skin from inflammatory problems, such as eczema, and dangerous infections, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA."
I knew about the importance of bacteria in our guts. Now I know about the skin-dwellers. What will we ever do without these critters! Without them, we won't stink, but we will not be healthy either!
If only scientists can make those bacteria produce aromas like Ralph Lauren's Polo though; I can be a walking cologne factory then, and my sweat can be bottled and sold by the ounce!
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