The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration
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The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Sarah Everts (Author), Sophie Amoss (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 162 ratings
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An Outside Magazine 2021 Science Book Pick

One of Smithsonian's 10 Best Science Books of 2021

A taboo-busting romp through the shame, stink, and strange science of sweating.

Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body - and in human history.

Why is sweat salty? Why do we sweat when stressed? Why do some people produce colorful sweat? And should you worry about Big Brother tracking the hundreds of molecules that leak out in your sweat - not just the stinky ones or alleged pheromones - but the ones that reveal secrets about your health and vices?

Everts’ entertaining investigation takes listeners around the world - from Moscow, where she participates in a dating event in which people sniff sweat in search of love, to New Jersey, where companies hire trained armpit sniffers to assess the efficacy of their anti-sweat products. In Finland, Everts explores the delights of the legendary smoke sauna and the purported health benefits of good sweat, while in the Netherlands she slips into the sauna theater scene, replete with costumes, special effects, and towel dancing.

Along the way, Everts traces humanity’s long quest to control sweat, culminating in the multibillion-dollar industry for deodorants and antiperspirants. And she shows that while sweating can be annoying, our sophisticated temperature control strategy is one of humanity’s most powerful biological traits.

Deeply researched and written with great zest, The Joy of Sweat is a fresh take on a gross but engrossing fact of human life.

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 3 minutes
  2. Author
    Sarah Everts
  3. Narrator
    Sophie Amoss
  4. Audible release date
    13 July 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B08ZJVPMC1
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 3 minutes
Author Sarah Everts
Narrator Sophie Amoss
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date 13 July 2021
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08ZJVPMC1
Best Sellers Rank 128,429 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
921 in Anatomy & Physiology
1,186 in Biological Sciences (Audible Books & Originals)
98,498 in Teen & Young Adult (Books)

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Nina
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read!
Reviewed in Mexico on 19 September 2021
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Written for everyone, with examples you can relate too, and also comes with myth Busters! Nicely documented, with firsthand experiences.
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ethan
5.0 out of 5 stars Sweat is life
Reviewed in Canada on 15 August 2021
Verified Purchase
I truly enjoyed reading “The Joy of Sweat”. The style was bright and informative. The book integrated up to date research with stories of personal experience. The science reviewed how sweat was a necessary component to the evolution of humans. The personal travels throughout the world experiencing and analyzing joyous sweat experiences reveals why it is great fun to be a human.
One person found this helpful
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RTM
5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, Interesting, and Informative Book
Reviewed in the United States on 26 July 2021
Verified Purchase
I think that anyone interested in human biology would enjoy this book. Science writer Sarah Everts investigates one of the most important human functions, sweating. Being able to cool our bodies efficiently became essential to our survival as a species from the beginning, and Everts reviews some evolutionary biology on this point. However, this is definitely not a dry science book, since Everts also describes her personal experiences with:
1) A trip to a traditional Finnish sauna;
2) A "Smell Dating" event in Moscow;
3) The sauna theater scene in the Netherlands;
Everts also discusses our history of efforts to control our sweat. She writes with a humorous yet informative approach that I enjoyed.
9 people found this helpful
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Sandra
3.0 out of 5 stars Grappig weetjes over zweten
Reviewed in the Netherlands on 30 March 2023
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Het gaat niet zozeer over de jou of sweat maar wel over verschillende onderzoeken die zijn gedaan.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't sweat it
Reviewed in Germany on 30 March 2022
Verified Purchase
A fantastic journey through the biology, chemistry, sociology, and history of sweat; providing an in depth look at a bodily function too often dismissed or taken for granted.
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