Welcome to the Digital Repositories team’s first new newsletter feature: Nuggets of Knowledge in ERA! This is where we share fascinating finds and hidden (open-access!) gems from ERA that we’ve stumbled across while exploring the archives. Think of it as a little brain snack: quick, curious reads to give your mind a breather.
We’re supposed to get (real) snow here in Edmonton pretty soon, and so you’ve likely started preparing: getting the shovel and extension cords up from the basement, dusting off your winter coat from the back of your closet, and mentally preparing for the nightmare of having soggy socks after shoveling out your driveway from a heavy snowfall. Did you know that someone actually ran a study on how wet your socks can get before they become a cool, wet prison in your boots?
Apparently, yes. Nicole Furtak actually ran the numbers on soggy socks in her thesis, Socks: Correlation of Wetness Perceptions with Moisture Transport available on ERA. Using a method called Algorithmic Image Analysis (AIA), she studied how different fabrics handle moisture and how that affects comfort. She tested a range of sock materials, even ran wear trials with real people ranking socks from driest to dampest. The verdict? Some socks are scientifically drier than others, and AIA can predict how dry your feet will feel.
So next time your boots betray you, remember: there’s real research behind your soggy socks.