#11 on my list, Learn 30 New facts (#3)

So this quarter I'm taking Meteorology. So far it's interesting to learn about, it's just very dry. This is where fact number 3 comes from. I've tended to stay away from scientific facts, because I would hate to look like a fool, but I'm copying it from my text book so if I mess something up it's the books fault, not mine. PLus I think it's just good info for us to have.

Throughout my travels I have spent a lot of time in humid weather. Probably the worst was when I was in Diego Garcia. The air feels almost suffocating and all you want to do is lay in the A/C until dusk when the temperature becomes reasonable again. The air hangs with a heaviness that can just feel oppressive. . .but wait. . .I just learned tonight is that humid air is actually less dense than dry air, at the same temperature and pressure. The water vapor that's in the air actually reduces the density of the air because the molecular weight of water, that is to say the weight of it's molecules, is less then the molecular weight of dry air.

Still no answer as to why exactly the air feels heavier than normal, but there you have it. Unfortunately for myself it will probably be a pet peave for me the next time I hear someone complain about humid air being heavy, but I'll just have to get over it.