Why is it that if you sit on a chair which somebody has just vacated, you can feel the residue of that person's body heat, yet if you're sitting down, you don't notice the warmth of your own body on the chair?

Jeeves

Before you sit down there is air flowing around your body and the skin is slightly cooler than your internal temperature. When you sit down the lack of flowing air lets the skin in contact with the chair gradually rise to close to your internal temperature. This change is slow and it is not noticeable, though on a hot day you may notice the hot patch when you stand up. When you first sit down you notice the heat from the previous person because your skin is still at the cooler temperature. Oct 12 02, 8:40 PM