Heatwave 2 has hit the UK and the mercury in the writing den is making its way past 30 degrees Celsius at 10 a.m. Not to worry, I’ve discovered a new way to keep cool… splooting.
Sploot is not a word I have encountered before. According to the entry in dictionary.com ‘Sploot is slang for the pose an animal, especially cats and dogs and other four-legged pets, make when they lie on their stomachs, with hind legs stretched out back and flat.’
Splooting is something animals have done for centuries and is a mechanism they use to cool their body temperature. The pose is best done on a cool surface like a tiled or wooden floor. The fun doesn’t stop there. There are different kind of sploots.
- The Full Sploot: as previously described.
- The Side Sploot: When one hind leg sticks out to the side while the other leg is tucked in.
- The Half Sploot: When one back leg sticks straight out and the other is tucked underneath the belly.
Chaos on the streets of New York
Even the squirrels in New York have got in on the act. The city’s parks department has urged residents not to panic at the large numbers of squirrels splooting on pavements. The department tweeted, ‘Don’t worry…On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat.’
If you want to know more about the sploot phenomenon, you can visit Jason Galaxy, at the Cat Daddy Dictionary, who answers the burning question, ‘What is Sploot?’; or Alicia over at, The Simple Swan, writing about the ‘Elegance of Splooting.’
While I have been preparing this post, the temperature has shifted up a few more degrees, so I am off to find myself an ice cold floor. Have you discovered any great word or crazes this week? I would love to know. Have a great weekend and happy splooting.
My daughter pointed out to me that I started splooting when I started menopause.:-) Splooting is a great remedy for hot flashes!
Priscilla, that was one area I did not uncover during my research. Glad to hear that splooting works for other things. Have a good weekend and thanks for sharing your remedy.
A memory of a former coworker popped into my mind after reading your post. She said (especially on hot days) that it was a good day for a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon beer). Actually, she said that on a lot of days. 😎
She may have been right, Diana, although I don’t think we get that beer in the UK. I’m having to cool down with a Fruit Pastille ice lolly. Thanks for dropping by and have a good weekend.
I’m tempted to sploot myself. It’s so hot and humid here. The only cool surface would be the inside of a fridge. Pretty sure I won’t fit in there. Haha! Thanks for sharing this, Davy. I’ve seen dogs doing it but never knew what it was called. Keep cool and let the words sweat. 🙂
Thanks, Terveen. The inside of a fridge sounds heaven. I think we may be a little cooler and less humid compared to where you are. Have a good weekend and happy splooting.😎
That’s awesome! It’s a new word to me as well but I’m glad I know it now. Stay cool, Davy!
Thank you, Wynne. After writing this post the word is like an earworm and I can’t get it out of my head. Maybe the heat might sweat it out. Have a good weekend.
An entertaining post — I learned a new word today (sploot). Not sure how I feel about that pose, though. It looks pretty cool, but also a bit weird:-)
I’ve tried all three sploots, Grace and the difficulty is getting up off the floor 😂 Glad you enjoyed the post and have a good weekend.
Lol I didn’t know there was a term for this. I used to do this instinctively, but just by lying on the marble floor.
On a more morbid note, I’ve heard that homeless people die from cold not because they have no blankets, but because they lose a lot of body heat to the ground when sleeping. So the ground really does absorb the heat.
I didn’t realise the last part about homeless people, Stuart. So sad. But nice to find out you were a splooter without knowing it.