You look down. You blink. You look down again. Those are your feet, yes. You recognize the bunion from 1987 and the hammer toe from that unfortunate clog phase. But why do they look like they belong to someone twenty pounds heavier? Welcome to heat edema. It sounds like a medical condition from a …

You look down. You blink. You look down again. Those are your feet, yes. You recognize the bunion from 1987 and the hammer toe from that unfortunate clog phase. But why do they look like they belong t…

You look down. You blink. You look down again. Those are your feet, yes. You recognize the bunion from 1987 and the hammer toe from that unfortunate clog phase. But why do they look like they belong to someone twenty pounds heavier? Welcome to heat edema. It sounds like a medical condition from a Victorian novel, but it’s just a fancy way of saying, “Your ankles and feet are swollen because it’s hotter than a two-dollar pistol out there.” Here’s what happens. The Dog Days heat makes your blood vessels expand (they’re trying to cool you off, bless their hearts). Gravity, that rel…

Let’s talk about a very rude trick the human body plays during the Dog Days. You’re sitting outside, enjoying a gentle breeze, maybe watching a squirrel steal birdseed. You’ve been out there for a while, feeling fine. Then you stand up to go inside for that glass of iced tea you’ve been drea…

Let’s talk about a very rude trick the human body plays during the Dog Days. You’re sitting outside, enjoying a gentle breeze, maybe watching a squirrel steal birdseed. You’ve been out there for…

Let’s talk about a very rude trick the human body plays during the Dog Days. You’re sitting outside, enjoying a gentle breeze, maybe watching a squirrel steal birdseed. You’ve been out there for a while, feeling fine. Then you stand up to go inside for that glass of iced tea you’ve been dreaming about. And whoosh. The world tilts. The sky gets sparkly. You grab the arm of the chair and think, “Did I just stand up too fast, or am I suddenly a character in a cartoon?” That, my friends, is heat syncope. Fancy name for a simple problem: your blood vessels, in their infinite wisdom, …

Well, here we are. The calendar has flipped past the Fourth of July, the hummingbirds are drinking like they just ran a marathon, and your favorite rocking chair on the porch has turned into a griddle. That’s right, friends. It’s the Dog Days of Summer. Now, before you go looking for Duke or Ge…

Well, here we are. The calendar has flipped past the Fourth of July, the hummingbirds are drinking like they just ran a marathon, and your favorite rocking chair on the porch has turned into a griddle…

Well, here we are. The calendar has flipped past the Fourth of July, the hummingbirds are drinking like they just ran a marathon, and your favorite rocking chair on the porch has turned into a griddle. That’s right, friends. It’s the Dog Days of Summer. Now, before you go looking for Duke or George lounging in their kiddie pools, let’s get one thing straight: this has nothing to do with actual dogs. No matter how much your basset hound is flopped on the tile floor like a fuzzy throw rug, the “Dog Days” aren’t named for him. Here’s the fun trivia to impress your grandkids (or bo…