Fun at the Science and Industry Museum

**Rex_Tremende** · 22nd November 06, 07:00 AM

A friend and I spent the day last Saturday at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Knowing Chicago’s reputation for being windy and cold this time of year, I decided to wear my heaviest tank, the 16oz. Douglas modern 8-yarder, and a lightweight black wool mock-turtleneck sweater. For many of the other museum’s guests, I was as much of a curiosity as the permanent installations. The most frequently asked question was, “Are you playing today?” (It was never The Question, however.) One gentleman bustled up to me to inform me that he would be wearing his kilt the next day, as he was a piper in a band, which had some engagement elsewhere in the city. That’s about all he could say before he had to catch up with his daughter, but I took his going out of his way to tell me this as approbation.

Approval was telegraphed in other, more subtle ways, according to my friend, who was keeping closer tabs on the men and women who were cruising me than I was. He also told me that among his medieval and Renaissance reenactor buddies in Wisconsin, kilts, especially UKs, are de rigueur, and he is the odd man out for not having one.

In case anyone ever had any doubt about the kilt’s ability to insulate, there’s proof to be found in the museum’s “Thermographic Portal,” which is essentially an infrared camera and a projection screen. Heat detected by the camera is projected as color images onto the screen: white for the hottest surfaces, graduating through yellow, orange, red, and eventually black, representing the places where little heat exists, or, more accurately, is out of the range of sensitivity.

Let me tell you, the kilt was black. And so was my sweater. There was a little heat trapped in the pleats, and quite a bit under the sporran, but my face and legs and feet were burning brightly. In fact, I was quite shocked at how much heat was escaping through my hose and shoes. The Thermographic Portal even picked up a trail of warm footprints in the carpet where I walked. It also revealed my companion was wearing boxers, but that is maybe another story.

So, what have we learned from this? Kilts attract attention and trap heat. Listen to your mother and wear warm shoes and socks in winter. Pants are more revealing than kilts.

But you probably didn’t need to go to the museum to figure that out.

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati