I note some workers/employees believe of their work clothing requirements they must wear long pants etc(even in the summer heat), their skin mosty fully covered/protected from the sun.

I guess this is because of the possibility of skin cancers. There’s liability for employers etc.

Some of this is probably driven by insurers, but more generally OH&S.

I was having a chat with a chap the other day and he was of the view he had to wear long pants etc, and I went on the express doubts about how enforceable it was in practice.

Obviously there are some jobs that require long pants for safety reasons, but ignoring them for the moment….

The thing is a minimum area of skin exposed to the air is needed for evaporation for cooling, so I see impositions that limit that area too greatly to be not much better than restricting fluid intake (causing dehydration).

So what’s the go?

Is overly resticted evaporation from the skin not much better than restricting fluid intake?

transition said:

I note some workers/employees believe of their work clothing requirements they must wear long pants etc(even in the summer heat), their skin mosty fully covered/protected from the sun.

I guess this is because of the possibility of skin cancers. There’s liability for employers etc.

Some of this is probably driven by insurers, but more generally OH&S.

I was having a chat with a chap the other day and he was of the view he had to wear long pants etc, and I went on the express doubts about how enforceable it was in practice.

Obviously there are some jobs that require long pants for safety reasons, but ignoring them for the moment….

The thing is a minimum area of skin exposed to the air is needed for evaporation for cooling, so I see impositions that limit that area too greatly to be not much better than restricting fluid intake (causing dehydration).

So what’s the go?

Is overly resticted evaporation from the skin not much better than restricting fluid intake?

unless you are wearing skin tight, water proof clothing, then I’d say that the wearing of long pants would not significantly alter the effects of evaporative cooling – it’s one of the main reasons drill gear is made from cotton.

Now if you were a dominatrix, or professional gimp, that may well be another story…

I wonder how hard it is for gimps to get insurance.

dv said:

I wonder how hard it is for gimps to get insurance.

what type of insurance?

transition said:

I note some workers/employees believe of their work clothing requirements they must wear long pants etc(even in the summer heat), their skin mosty fully covered/protected from the sun.

I guess this is because of the possibility of skin cancers. There’s liability for employers etc.

Some of this is probably driven by insurers, but more generally OH&S.

I was having a chat with a chap the other day and he was of the view he had to wear long pants etc, and I went on the express doubts about how enforceable it was in practice.

Obviously there are some jobs that require long pants for safety reasons, but ignoring them for the moment….

The thing is a minimum area of skin exposed to the air is needed for evaporation for cooling, so I see impositions that limit that area too greatly to be not much better than restricting fluid intake (causing dehydration).

So what’s the go?

Is overly resticted evaporation from the skin not much better than restricting fluid intake?

Yea, this is why locals to extremely hot areas like the Sahara and other desert areas wear shorts, singlets and pluggers…

A lot depends upon the type of long pants and the material they are made of. If they are tight or even tightly woven, they won’t be as good for health as they are for safety. I’d have thought a pair of the longer shorts that people wear today should be fine for sun exposure unless a lot of the time is spent lying down exposing the lower legs to the sun. I don’t know if you have noticed but it is above the knee and the top of the foot that gets burned whilst walking and standing upright in the sunlight.

• I wonder how hard it is for gimps to get insurance.

Seriously, you people are bizarre…

diddly-squat said:

dv said:

I wonder how hard it is for gimps to get insurance.

what type of insurance?

Professional indemnity, income protection etc.

furious said:

• I wonder how hard it is for gimps to get insurance.

Seriously, you people are bizarre…

IKR, you wouldn’t want to be on a long ride with d-s.

>…/cut/…longer shorts that people…/cut/…

yes certainly some area of the lower legs being exposed to air movement can make a lot of difference to comfort/aid evaporation. It’s that sort of thing I thinking of.

transition said:

>…/cut/…longer shorts that people…/cut/…

yes certainly some area of the lower legs being exposed to air movement can make a lot of difference to comfort/aid evaporation. It’s that sort of thing I thinking of.

It can be quite important to general health. Particularly in our current status of so many people at or near diabetic.

>Yea, this is why locals to extremely hot areas like the Sahara and other desert areas wear shorts, singlets and pluggers…

while venturing extremes, for a little absurdity, I suppose the chaps that walked on the moon too qualify.

If you go walking on the moon in shorts and thongs, I guarantee you will not die from skin cancer.

dv said:

If you go walking on the moon in shorts and thongs, I guarantee you will not die from skin cancer.

make a good story down the pub though

diddly-squat said:

unless you are wearing skin tight, water proof clothing, then I’d say that the wearing of long pants would not significantly alter the effects of evaporative cooling – it’s one of the main reasons drill gear is made from cotton.

Now if you were a dominatrix, or professional gimp, that may well be another story…

I agree with this. We don’t sweat as much with the legs below the thighs, so shorts vs long pants doesn’t matter as much as for example socks vs thongs.

> I note some workers/employees believe of their work clothing requirements they must wear long pants etc(even in the summer heat), their skin mostly fully covered/protected from the sun.

After getting a sunburnt neck and forearms early this summer I wear long-sleeves shirts outside even in hot weather.

Many men are ashamed of their (hairy?) legs so wear either long pants or those popular baggy daggy shorts.

Indoors at home or where there is no breeze and no sense of shame, shorts are appropriate.

At least it’s better than a double breasted suit with bowler hat and a tie with a Windsor knot.

>Many men are ashamed of their (hairy?) legs so wear either long pants or those popular baggy daggy shorts.

really, i’d better shave mine

on the subject cooling, doubt all’s perspiration, but still of variously cooling..

… as a heatsink or heat exchange area the lower legs might be quite good. Lot of muscle and bone, not a great mass, and presuming good blood flow, then heat might be lost there quite efficiently.

baggy (of long shorts) pants allow airflow up the leg too, to thighs, crotch area too. And movement(of legs) provided a pumping action for air flow.

mollwollfumble said:

At least it’s better than a double breasted suit with bowler hat and a tie with a Windsor knot.

nah’s not what the guys in the boiler room of the titanic were wearing.

transition said:

>Many men are ashamed of their (hairy?) legs so wear either long pants or those popular baggy daggy shorts.

really, i’d better shave mine

on the subject cooling, doubt all’s perspiration, but still of variously cooling..

… as a heatsink or heat exchange area the lower legs might be quite good. Lot of muscle and bone, not a great mass, and presuming good blood flow, then heat might be lost there quite efficiently.

baggy (of long shorts) pants allow airflow up the leg too, to thighs, crotch area too. And movement(of legs) provided a pumping action for air flow.

There is one safety aspect that one should be aware of. Loose clothing is good for preventing overheating of the body and for protection from the sun but it can also catch on things and cause acidents that may be from funny to very serious.
That said, I’d still prefer to wear loose shorts that at least cover my knees from the sun. I’ve never had sunburnt shins/calves unless I was lying down at the time but the pocket of my loose shorts may catch on a door handle or anything if I’m not aware of it at the time, which could end up being quite embarrassing.

I like laying in bed with me feet hanging out from under the quilt sometimes, it’s just the right amount of cooling needed down the other end.

anyway, to the question

whose evaporative cooling system is it?

transition said:

I like laying in bed with me feet hanging out from under the quilt sometimes, it’s just the right amount of cooling needed down the other end.

anyway, to the question

whose evaporative cooling system is it?

Yours in the above case.

>Yours in the above case.

i’m not here :)

quietly self-radicalizing with some thoughts of physics and biology over expectations of the social environment.

i’ll sweat it out tomorrow during OH&S instruction, the visiting minister’s going to be speaking about homeostasis.