1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren A bogle Bomb here. Question, what all 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:17,080 Speaker 1: do astronauts, modernly traditional brides, American author Tom Wolf, and 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: some people trying to keep cool in hot weather have 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: in common? Answer? They all wear white, and that's probably 6 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,760 Speaker 1: what all they have in common, but you never know anyway. 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: The sartorial thinking is this, fabrics of the lightest colors 8 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: force all the solar heat fighting its way to our 9 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: skin to just reflect away instead, where dark fabrics, the 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,919 Speaker 1: idea goes, and you're stuck with that heat. Is it 11 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: greedily absorbs into the fabric and causes you to swelter 12 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: in your own clothes. But white clothing will cheerfully bounce 13 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: that solar heat right off, and you'll be more comfortable 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: on a hot day. But while all that certainly sounds 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: great in theory, there are a few other factors at 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 1: play that might be working against the light clothing adage. 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: At the very least, there is some compelling evidence in 18 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: the form of a real, true scientific study that says 19 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: it doesn't matter. Let's start with some research published in 20 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: night in the journal Nature titled why the Bedouins wear 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: black robes and hot deserts. The researchers were curious about 22 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: the fact that in oppressive heat, the residents of the 23 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: Sinai Desert wear billowing black robes instead of say white 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: or maybe a pretty pale lavender. What they found was 25 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: when they tested white robes versus black, and note that 26 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: they did this by having some poor guy stand out 27 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: in the heat while recording temperature, the differences were nil. 28 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: They found that the black clothing did more to absorb heat, 29 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: but that's where it stayed. In other words, the black 30 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: soaks up additional heat, but that extra is law by 31 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: the time it actually gets to your skin. A way 32 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: more useful for keeping cool, however, was the fact that 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: the robes are loose and billowing to allow air flow. 34 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: There's also a concept that the whole light clothing argument 35 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: is missing a key element the person who's wearing the clothes, 36 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: meaning that the heat your body radiates will reflect off 37 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: of white clothing as readily as heat from the sun does, 38 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: bouncing back to your body and actually keeping you toastier. 39 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: Not a bad theory, but it's not been tested on humans. 40 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: It's only been studied in birds with white plumage, and 41 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: that with mixed results. So the answer is it doesn't 42 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: make a huge difference whether you're wearing black or white 43 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: in hot weather as long as you choose loose, breathable 44 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: clothing either way. Today's episode is based on the article 45 00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: should you wear light colored clothes and hot weather to 46 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: stay cool? On how stuff works dot com written by 47 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: Kate Kirshner. Brain Stuff is production of i Heeart Radio 48 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is 49 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: produced by Tyler Clang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, 50 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 51 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.