RUNNING by Kasey Panetta August 8, 2012, 09:55 am EDT
Crap, I didn't figure out the wind speed!Picture this: You’re just leaving the office for the night when it starts pouring—and you don’t have your umbrella. Running will get you to the car faster, but you’ll be sprinting into drops. Do you walk, so you’re not running into the drops, or do you make a run for it to find dry salvation sooner? Oh, the tough decisions men must make!
Now, thanks to some completely unnecessary physics experiments, we found out the answer. The groundbreaking revelation: When caught in an unexpected rain shower, your best bet for remaining as dry as possible is to run as fast as possible, according to a new study in the European Journal of Physics.
Look, we know this isn’t totally useful. Wait—it’s not useful at all! But come on, haven’t you always wondered? (And we can’t hate on physicists too hard—after all, they did land the Mars rover.)
Researchers used a slanted 3-D parallelogram, a sphere, and a cylinder to calculate how different body shapes affect the optimal rain-running speed. Previous studies on the topic—yes, there have been multiple studies—have failed to take into account varying heights and builds. Walking is always the worst option, says study author Franco Bocci, an engineering professor at the University of Brescia in Italy. And the reason is simple: the slower you move, the more time you spend in the rain, Bocci says. (Think you know how to run? Think again. Learn how to Fix Your Running Form.)
Using some pretty complicated physics, Bocci discovered the optimal speed for each person will vary, depending on individual height and weight, not to mention wind speed, the orientation of your body, and size of the raindrops.
You could also try not forgetting your umbrella. We’ve heard that helps. (Click here for some of the sturdiest picks.)
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