"Wicking" Fabric

I guess this is The Bad.  I have a pet peeve with some manufacturers of running and sports clothes who have touted this new miracle fabric as perfect for running since it "wicks" moisture away from your body.

Here's the truth, folks.  It is nothing more that a polyester fabric with maybe some added cotton or rayon (more on that later.)   Polyester is a man made fabric that has been around since about 1941.  Polyester is a synthetic polymer, as is rayon and acetate, among others.  It is a sturdy fabric, and it has a low moisture absorbancy rate, which is why it is often teamed with cotton and/or rayon. It also will stink like crazy after your workout,  because the moisture it does absorb gets trapped in the tightly woven fibers.  And, unlike cotton, which allows your skin to breath, polyester  does not allow for air to circulate on your skin, so it holds in your body heat.

It is made by  pushing plastic liquid, that's right, plastic, through a nozzel, jet, or spinneret.  As the plastic material solidifies it becomes continuous filaments of thread.  The same plastic used for polyester can also be used for making foam, cellophane, or plastic sheets.  Imagine yourself wrapped in plastic as you go for your run.   That's pretty much what you are doing when you wear "wicking" fabric.

Rayon, while also a man made fabric,  is made by treating wood pulp with caustic soda and other chemicals.  (Pretty much the same process as Tencil, another fiber which is great for hot weather as it actually feels cool against your skin.)  Rayon is also know as artificial silk, and was first made as filaments of viscose that were used for electric lamps.  The bulbs contained filaments.  Rayon is a great summer fabric as it absorbs moisture well, is usually a very thin, light fabric not as tightly woven as polyester,  and it doesn't have that horrible stinky smell after a sweaty workout.  But unlike polyester, rayon is not a stretch knit, so there is no give in a rayon top. 

And that's today's Bad.

The Good

Spumoni ice cream.  Without doing any research, spumoni ice cream is Italian.  The way it's three flavors meld together is great.  You've got your chocolate; simple in a classic way, your strawberry, classic but with bits of strawberry in it, and pistachio, with chunks of pistachio nuts in it.  And the colors - brown, pink, and lime green. 


 It tastes really great, too. 
Well, so much for The Good today.