sweat taxonomy

Peter's mention of airplane-specific sweat, along with Katie's description of the "clean sweat" smell of a dancer, made me think about the different types of sweat we become familiar with on our own bodies, and on the bodies of our loved ones.

"Ripe" is such a great word for describing sweatiness somewhat affectionately. Ripe goes both ways--repellent and sexy. Ripe is past fresh but not rotten. Pluckable.

I'm married to a graduate student who is in the throes of final papers, and I swear there is a specific "study sweat" that is different from any of the other sweats of his I know. There is something in the library books, then, that seeps into his fingertips as he's reading, noodles with his glands, and teaches everybody around him a thing or two.