Q: In a rainstorm, do you get...

Q: In a rainstorm, do you get wetter walking to cover or running?

A: You get wetter walking, according to a new study by meteorologists Thomas Peterson and Trevor Wallis of the National Climatic Data Center. Theoretical calculations that they performed showed that, over a 100-meter distance, a walker would get 16% wetter than a runner in a drizzle and 23% wetter in a heavy rain. If they took into account the forward lean of runners, exposing their backs more but protecting their fronts, the walkers got 36% wetter. The two researchers, who are about the same size, then tested their results experimentally. Wearing identical clothes, one ran 100 meters in the rain and the other walked. Weighing themselves before and after the outing, they concluded that the runner picked up about 40% less water.