Well, if you want to go from A to B, running is better, because you will be exposed to the rain for less long. If you have a speed of zero, you will take an infinite amount of rain. If your speed is infinite, on the other hand, the rain will stand still in comparison. Hence you will take all the rain that is inside your path and no rain on the top of your head and your shoulders. The interesting thing to note is that you will take all the rain inside your path anyway, as long as you move, but the amount of rain that falls on top of you changes. So, running is better. However, if the time you're exposed to the rain is fixed, walking is better. To see this, take the two extremes: Standing still and running. If you stand still, theoretically only the top of you (e.g. your head and your shoulders) will get wet (assuming the rain falls down straight). If you run, you will pick up the additional raindrops that are in front of you. The faster you run, the more space you will travel during a given amount of time, and hence the more raindrops you will pick up.

One of my favorite Sunday newspaper columnists, Marilyn Vos Savant, had a reader ask the same question. Her response was "No", and she followed up by stating that if you run through the rain you intercept more falling drops per second, but are exposed for fewer seconds, and they average out the same (assuming that the rain is constant). If you're lucky you can catch her column in the Sunday Parade Magazine in your local newspaper.

Assuming that the rate of rain fall is steady and there is no strong wind, then you will 'collect' just about the same amount of moisture running as walking. Though this seems to defy logic, it works like this. When you're walking your head and shoulders are the most exposed surfaces, and collect the majority of the moisture. When you are running, you 'intercept' more raindrops by running into them on their sides....in effect, you have now exposed not only your head and shoulders, but to a lesser degree your torso, arms and legs. It may feel like you're less wet, but it's actually that the moisture has been collected over a much larger area than just your head and shoulders.

I actually read about a scientific study of this question, and their result was that it is very close, but you actually get SLIGHTLY less wet running through then walking. The way it works is, assuming a steady rainfall rate, whether you walk or run you still "cut the same swath". Your front, back and sides still intercept the same amount of raindrops whether you walk, skip or run. BUT, the top of your head, your shoulders, and any surfaces of your body exposed upwards will accumulate more rain the slower you walk. Don't believe me? Imagine two situations with identical rainfall rates. One where you take a step every minute, and one where you run. In both situations your front, back and sides will be equally as wet, as your body cuts the SAME path through the rain independent of the speed you move. BUT, in the situation where you take a step per minute, your head, shoulders and such will be soaked, as opposed to the relative dryness of these surfaces in the situation when you run. See?

Yow! Check this out: http://www.actsofvolition.com/archives/2004/october/amathphysics

Depending upon the direction of the rain and the speed of which it falls, either answer can be correct. if you walk against the angle at which the rain falls, you are going to get wetter than if you walk the other way. If you run, the rain keeps falling, you collect rain as you run through it, on your chest and stomach and your legs. Going faster doesn't keep you from getting wet because the rain is also in front of you and you will collect it reguardless of how fast you may move. The faster you go, the more you will collide with. Not to mention the rain falling from overhead. It seems the other answer is 2 demensional.... rain and people are three demensional(possibly 4) The rain is not only above you it is beside you, next to you, in front of you, under you and all around you. It doesn't stop at your head and shoulders. The rain is in fact in front of you and therefore, the faster you move the more you collect from in front of you. If you walk you will collect rain from in front of you, but not as much can collide with you. If you stand still, you will collect more rain but only from above. Yes, I know that isn't part of the question.... If you walk you won't get as wet although the difference is really negligible. If you walk you also have less of a chance of getting soaked because if you run, you are more likely to slip, fall, and land in a puddle! Hope this helps!

If you run your front, intercepts more drops. Your back get's hit with less drops. Wouldn't the two effects cancel out one another? Wouldn't the answer be you'd arrive at your destination drier. However, the front of your shirt would be wetter, but your back would be drier. I guess you could wring your shirt out in a bucket and measure and compare the two results. That sounds like a pretty simple experiment.

If you was travelling from A to B, then you would get more wet walking because it would take you longer to get there than if you was running. Does that make sense?

Please don't down rate me for posting this without proof or references, but I can't recall where I saw this tested. It might have been on Discovery's MythBusters, but again, I'm not sure. Anyway, you actually get wetter by running in the rain, versus walking, because you come in contact with more raindrops.

I've changed my mind - because if you ran, you would run into more raindrops wouldn't you, so I think running would get you wetter.....maybe you should just get an umbrella.

It was on mythbusters and they found that if you ran thru the rain you got wetter.

Doesn't the answer to "do you get wetter running or walking in rain?" beg a study of the proportion of rain that contacts you per the amount of rain falling and the speed of the walk or run? I believe the answer to this question could only be accurately concluded in many varying degrees of falling precipitation. Walking = longer potential contact with rain, running = greater potential to "run into" more rain BUT how fast is the rain falling? The answer to this question has too many variables to consider to be conclusive.

Discovery's Mythbusters showed that running should not be preferred over walking in rain as the former was observed to collect more moisture than the later. The principle working here is that when you are running, you are not only collecting raindrops falling upon you, but also the raindrops that were meant to fall before you. While in walking, you just collect your share of drops and keep on moving.

The raindrop is discrete instead of continuous.However,for the convenience of study we can assume that the raindrop is continuous. Now we define the 'raindrop density' p,it means the number of raindrops per unit volume. see figure 1 and figure 2 below: u denotes the velocity of the raindrops v represents the velocity of walking d stands for the distance between the place of departure and the destination h is the height of the man. If we move together with the raindrops(or in the reference frame of the rain),then we will see that the raindrops no longer move and the man start to 'climb up the wall'. Now the number of raindrops drop on the body can be calculated like this: N=p*S ,S is the area that the person goes through. S=d*h N=P*d*h p,d and h are constances,so N is a constance too.In other words,on the assumption of the continuous of the raindrops,it is the same whether you walk or run. But there is an exception:if you stand outside and remain still. Let's do the further research,we should remember the raindrops is discrete. 1.The faster you run,the more continuous the raindrops is like.So the number of raindrops:N1~p*d*h 2.The slower you walk,the more discrete the raindrops is.In this case,you may aviod some raindrops. So the number of raindrops:N2=p*d*h-N',where N' is the raindrops that you have avioded.

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1290294 http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_395.html http://www.actsofvolition.com/archives/2004/october/amathphysics http://www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/9811/9811article5.htm Google search Running vs Walking Rain Dry = literally 1 million results. Alot of good answers. To summarise them, Its kind of funny, I think the best speed to go when caught in the rain, is the speed of the stereotyped "Crap, Im in the Rain, I better get under cover, but not slip on my way" kind of almost Jog, powerwalk. Any faster and the benefits become not really worth it. Also, If there is a high chance of getting to shelter before the rain rain stops, (or gets heavier!) it means you should go quickly. If there is no forseeable end to your journey, then you should just go whatever speed you want, as the differences are more negligible between sprinting and strolling. Some commonly ignored Variables in answers I see: While walking, you are in the rain longer. While you run, raindrops fall behind you that would normally hit you if not for your increased speed. Also, Crosswinds effect the equation, along with rainstorm intensity and length. If someone Runs, and gets to shelter, at that very point in time, the walker may be more dry. But what if the rain suddenly doubles in intensity, and wind picks up? the walker suddenly cops more water, while runner is sheltered. Also, Running splashes more water around (onto runner) and there is the kicking of mud and water onto the runners back. (look at the backs of soccer players playing on a muddy field) Chance of slipping over into a puddle/hurting yourself Willingness to exert yourself (maybe I like running more than being dry?)

I'm a postman and take it from me- once you're wet , you're WET !!!!!

Actually, there are many variables to include, but let's keep it simple for now. Let's say the water is a constant speed and you are standing straight up and down and the drops are coming straight down. You can split the problem into two parts: 1. Drops that will hit the front of you while you are moving forward will be the exact same amount of drops, just at a faster rate. The amount is determined by how much rain per cubic foot multiplied by square footage of the front of you multiplied by feet traveled. 2. Drops that will hit you from the top are entirely controlled by time (amount determined by how much rain per cubic foot per second multiplied by square footage of the top of you multiplied by how many seconds). If there are no other factors other than time for this portion, we can use the example of if you were standing there for 1 minute, you will get a lot less rain on you than if you were to stand there for 10 minutes. So, if going from point A to point B, you get less wet the quicker you go. But, if measured by time. Let's say you must wait in the rain for 1 minute. You would get the least wet by just standing there, because you would eliminate the amount of rain for the first portion of the problem (the rain hitting the front of you). In the real world now, there are other factors, when running into rain harder it soaks in better on the front of you, and on the sides and top of you there is the factor of the rain skipping off of you the faster you go. And when running you splash whatever water is on the ground more than when walking (and splashing is determined by how you run). Also, when running you lean forward making a larger square footage for the rain to hit from the top. Most of these factors are in favor of walking and not running.

To get to a specific place you get more wet by walking. To travel for a specific period of time you get more wet by running.

Probly walking

I heard of a study that said you got wetter walking.

I am going to say walking...but i am not really sure...yes walking!

Mythbusters did that one. The result was you got wetter running. The reason is you run into lots of rain when you are moving fast. If you move slow the rain mostly falls on the top of your head and sholders which is a much smaller target. In there test they wore paper suits and weighed them befo and after both walking and running.

Depends on who I'm dreamin' bout yo...

I guess if you run, you spend less time in the rain, and so get less wet :-)

That depends upon how far you have to run or walk. You actually get a tiny bit wetter if you run, but you make up for it if you get there in a reasonable period of time. I'm sure that some mathematician somewhere has worked up an equation for this. : )

They proved it on Myth Busters that you get wetter if you run. Source: http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2005/10/episode_38_mythbusters_reviste.html

well i am gonna agree with kevin i mean if you run then more rain drops hit you then if you were to just walk

You get wetter when you run because even though you are out in the rain a shorter period of time, you are catching more raindrops since they aren't all falling in the same spot. But if you go really slow like stand there, you will also get very wet. So just walk normal and don't worry about it.

Think of it this way: Suppose you run. Fast. Very very fast. As fast as a bullet. You make a blur through the air carving out a you-shaped hole in the rain. You hit every single raindrop in that you-shaped hole on the way, but you go so fast no other raindrop above you has a chance to hit you. Suppose you walk. Slowly. Very very slowly. You still pass through the same volume and collect all the rain that is in that volume, but this time, rain is falling on your head too. So over any reasonable distance, running is best. You'll also have all the more time to dry off and you'll dry quicker because of all that heat you're giving off after that healthy exercise.