Don’t Like the Recent Heatwave? Blame ‘Sweating Corn’ in Illinois

I've heard many theories about what is responsible for the record-breaking heat many parts of Illinois has experienced this summer, but this one takes the cake. Why have you felt so miserable over the past few weeks? Experts claim it's because Illinois corn is sweating and I'm not even making that up.

When I see something shared by the Scientific American, I know that I'm probably gonna hear some real solid theories about something. Here is the exact title of a new article from them and I'm sharing exact words so you know I'm not imagining this. It goes like this.

‘Corn Sweat’ and Climate Change Bring Sweltering Weather to the Midwest

That's right. It's the sweating of Illinois corn behind the blazing heat we've experienced. If you had 'sweating corn' on your 2024 bingo card, you should get a prize.

The article says there's a word to describe what Illinois corn is doing and that's evapotranspiration. This is me pretending I know what that is. After some Googling, I can explain it in simple every man terms. It means corn is releasing moisture as the temperatures rise.

Technically, it's not the fault of Illinois corn for the heat since it wouldn't be sweating if that ball of fire in the sky wasn't making the temperature rise. This feels like a meteorological scapegoat theory to blame wonderful innocent Illinois corn for the fact that it feels like our feet are on fire.