# Nitpick: Sauna/Steam room

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [May 18, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791 "2004-05-18T16:16:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/1 "2004-05-18T16:16:31Z")

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In her [article about evaporation](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mevaporation.html), Una wrote:

> [@Una](#):
>
> Under certain conditions, e.g., if the air temperature is higher than your skin temperature (typically 35° C/95° F) and the relative humidity is 100%, as in in sauna

I think Una means “Steam Room”, not sauna. Saunas are dry heat, and IMHO, much more pleasant than steam rooms.

Other than that, it was a well written, informative article.

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/2 "2004-05-18T17:07:17Z")

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Wow, I did not know that; I’ve used the two terms synonymously for a long time. While some dictionary sites claim that the term is the same a “steam bath”, most back up your definition. 🆒

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**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/3 "2004-05-18T18:28:03Z")

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That’s not a nit. Now _here’s_a nit:

Officially, it is “Pikes Peak”, not “Pike’s Peak”. :rolleyes: Check out [www.pikes-peak.com](http://www.pikes-peak.com)

(I only know this because of a newspaper article telling me so. And I live in its shadow.)

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**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/4 "2004-05-19T18:15:02Z")

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Pikes Peak’s shadow, or the newspaper’s?

I don’t know what purpose is served by dropping the apostrophe. It’s clearly a possessive construction, right?

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**Author:** ![SlowMindThinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@SlowMindThinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlowMindThinking)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/5 "2004-05-20T02:54:22Z")

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> [@Fiver](#):
>
> Pikes Peak’s shadow, or the newspaper’s?
> 
> I don’t know what purpose is served by dropping the apostrophe. It’s clearly a possessive construction, right?

Touche! 😃

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**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpick-sauna-steam-room/245791/6 "2004-05-20T11:34:05Z")

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> [@Fiver](#):
>
> Pikes Peak’s shadow, or the newspaper’s?
> 
> I don’t know what purpose is served by dropping the apostrophe. It’s clearly a possessive construction, right?

> [@](#):
>
> The slogan of “Pikes Peak or Bust,” painted across many of the prairie schooners, was born at this time as fortune hunters headed west. Although only a handful of those who flocked to the region ever found gold, the nation now knew of the mountain and all that lay at its feet.

From [here](http://www.pikes-peak.com/history.htm). I assume that, should the above be a verbatim reproduction of the wording which appeared on the aforementioned prairie schooners, the lack of the apostrophe is meant to honor the original slogan, not the person.