Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hot Tub Slime Machine

I went to the gym today to run on the treadmill because it was so hot outside. After my workout, I went to the hot tub to soak. In the 15 minutes I sat there, I counted eight people get in and out. I'd guess that the hot tub probably got around fifty people per day. The average person sweats 27-47 oz per hour in the heat. If fifty people spend 10 minutes each in a hot tub, that's 300 oz of sweat per day, or 18 lbs. If they went 30 days without draining it, that would be 540 lbs. And that doesn't count other bodily fluids or residue from people who don't shower first. Based on the total volume of the hot tub and how inconvenient it must be to completely drain, I tried to estimate what percentage of the water/broth was human secretions, but without knowing how frequently the tub is drained, I cannot produce an accurate estimate. My guess is between 30-60%. I should take a sample home with me next time and examine it under my microscope.

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