diff --git a/src/ajax.js b/src/ajax.js
index 2d048479ce..a16717b00a 100644
--- a/src/ajax.js
+++ b/src/ajax.js
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ var r20 = /%20/g,
 	rquery = /\?/,
 	rscript = /<script\b[^<]*(?:(?!<\/script>)<[^<]*)*<\/script>/gi,
 	rselectTextarea = /^(?:select|textarea)/i,
-	rspaces = /\s+/,
+	rspacesAjax = /\s+/,
 	rts = /([?&])_=[^&]*/,
 	rurl = /^([\w\+\.\-]+:)(?:\/\/([^\/?#:]*)(?::(\d+))?)?/,
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ function addToPrefiltersOrTransports( structure ) {
 		}
 
 		if ( jQuery.isFunction( func ) ) {
-			var dataTypes = dataTypeExpression.toLowerCase().split( rspaces ),
+			var dataTypes = dataTypeExpression.toLowerCase().split( rspacesAjax ),
 				i = 0,
 				length = dataTypes.length,
 				dataType,
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@ jQuery.extend({
 		s.url = ( ( url || s.url ) + "" ).replace( rhash, "" ).replace( rprotocol, ajaxLocParts[ 1 ] + "//" );
 
 		// Extract dataTypes list
-		s.dataTypes = jQuery.trim( s.dataType || "*" ).toLowerCase().split( rspaces );
+		s.dataTypes = jQuery.trim( s.dataType || "*" ).toLowerCase().split( rspacesAjax );
 
 		// Determine if a cross-domain request is in order
 		if ( s.crossDomain == null ) {
diff --git a/src/attributes.js b/src/attributes.js
index 43d72ae9b9..ade38bcaf6 100644
--- a/src/attributes.js
+++ b/src/attributes.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 (function( jQuery ) {
 
 var rclass = /[\n\t\r]/g,
-	rspaces = /\s+/,
+	rspace = /\s+/,
 	rreturn = /\r/g,
 	rtype = /^(?:button|input)$/i,
 	rfocusable = /^(?:button|input|object|select|textarea)$/i,
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ jQuery.fn.extend({
 		}
 
 		if ( value && typeof value === "string" ) {
-			var classNames = (value || "").split( rspaces );
+			var classNames = (value || "").split( rspace );
 
 			for ( var i = 0, l = this.length; i < l; i++ ) {
 				var elem = this[i];
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ jQuery.fn.extend({
 		}
 
 		if ( (value && typeof value === "string") || value === undefined ) {
-			var classNames = (value || "").split( rspaces );
+			var classNames = (value || "").split( rspace );
 
 			for ( var i = 0, l = this.length; i < l; i++ ) {
 				var elem = this[i];
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ jQuery.fn.extend({
 					i = 0,
 					self = jQuery( this ),
 					state = stateVal,
-					classNames = value.split( rspaces );
+					classNames = value.split( rspace );
 
 				while ( (className = classNames[ i++ ]) ) {
 					// check each className given, space seperated list
diff --git a/src/event.js b/src/event.js
index f712f0deb4..05e79d3583 100644
--- a/src/event.js
+++ b/src/event.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ var hasOwn = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty,
 	rnamespaces = /\.(.*)$/,
 	rformElems = /^(?:textarea|input|select)$/i,
 	rperiod = /\./g,
-	rspaces = /\s+/g,
+	rspaces = / /g,
 	rescape = /[^\w\s.|`]/g,
 	fcleanup = function( nm ) {
 		return nm.replace(rescape, "\\$&");