Mingling of Molecules 291 



All living things soon feel very uncomfortable. 

 Your face and hands sting and crack ; the skin all over 

 your body becomes harsh and dry; your mouth feels 

 parched. The shoes you are wearing feel as if they had 

 been dried over a radiator after being very wet, only 

 they are still harder and more uncomfortable. 



A man driving a horse feels the lines stiffening in his 

 hands ; and the harness soon becomes so dry and brittle 

 that it cracks and perhaps breaks if the horse stops 

 suddenly. 



The leaves on the trees begin to rattle and break into 

 pieces as the wind blows against them. Although 

 they keep their greenness, they act like the driest leaves 

 of autumn. 



I doubt whether you or any one can stay alive long 

 enough to notice such effects. For the muscles of your 

 body, including those that make you breathe and make 

 your heart beat, probably become so harsh and stiff 

 that they entirely fail to work, and you drop dead among 

 thousands of other stiff, harsh-skinned animals and 

 people. 



So it is well that in the real world oil and water soften 

 practically all plant and animal tissues. Of course, in 

 living plants and animals the oil and water come largely 

 from within themselves. Your skin is kept moist and 

 slightly oily all the time by little glands within it, some 

 of which, called sweat glands, secrete perspiration and 

 others of which secrete oil. But sometimes the oil is 

 washed off the surface of your hands, as when you wash 

 an article in gasoline or strong soap. Then you feel 

 that your skin is dry and harsh. 



