Good news, Houston! Not only have we finally Jenny Craig'd our way out of the "Fattest City in America" title, we are also steadily becoming less sweaty.

That's right: Houston has managed to stay relatively dry in the latest rankings of the Sweatiest Cities in America, a yearly list complied by Old Spice and their parent company, Proctor and Gamble. For 2008, Houston came in at ninth-sweatiest out of 100 other contenders across the nation.

Last year we fared even better, bagging a respectable (for us) number 12. Either ranking is preferable to the inaugural year of the list, in which Houston ranked a balmy fourth place. In fact, Texas has dominated the list since its inception with our cousins in Dallas, San Antonio, Waco, Austin and Corpus Christi all hovering near the top twenty with implacable, clammy consistency.

To celebrate the the fact that Houston is finding new ways to become less repulsive to the opposite sex each year, Houstonist has compiled a list of ways to keep your perspiration levels low and your shirt slightly less sticky during our sultry summer months. After all, no one wants to be the sweaty dude (or chick) at the party.

• Revive the time-honored middle school sleepover trick of freezing bras, but apply to other clothing items as you deem necessary.
• Pretend you're in New Braunfels at the new Schlitterbahn water park in Galveston. Emerge only slightly disappointed when you see dark brown Gulf water instead of the sparkling Comal River, but also thankful that you aren't in Kansas City.
• Go to Marble Slab Creamery. Ask for something that you know is kept in the back of the store. Rush behind counter while ice cream scooper is gone, strip and lay flat on the ice-cold marble slab itself. When questioned by inevitable police presence, feign ignorance of public nudity or sanitation laws.
• Be the city's youngest mall-walker -- and beat the stampeding herd of shoppers at the Galleria -- by arriving at 7:00 a.m. sharp. Enjoy a day of free air conditioning and people-watching; cough up the dough to go ice skating if so inclined. Repeat Marble Slab stunt on ice rink if bold enough.
• Hog the runners' showers at Memorial Park or Hershey Park. Keep other possible patrons at bay by wearing a thong and grunting. Note: this only works for men.
• Set personal goal of finding the best margarita in town. Be sure to report back here with the results.

So how will you be keeping cool this summer?

And in case you were wondering, Phoenix captured the sweaty crown for the second year in a row. Just goes to show that you can't blame everything on the humidity.

Photo courtesy of flickr user bilbao58.