It’s summer and a telltale drop of sweat tickles down your back. Next thing you know, sweat is coursing off you in rivers, and your shirt is soaked.
Now a new study, which essentially turned six people into overheated burritos for science, explains why. Contrary to common lore, sweat doesn’t just pop out of our skin as delicate droplets; instead, it rises like a tide through our pores, soaking the top layer of skin, scientists show July 23 in Journal of the Royal Society Interface. The sweat then forms a shallow pool in the pore before joining with others to make a continuous film, revealing how we go from