Weather
Wisconsin Can't Stop Throwing Boiling Water Into Air: Watch
What do you do when record-cold temps keep you indoors? If you're from Wisconsin, you pass the time with this cool science trick:
WISCONSIN -- One of the "coolest" tricks mother nature has to offer on a freezing cold day happens when dozens of Wisconsinites venture out into the cold after to throw pots of boiling water into the air.
Maybe we're all just fighting cabin fever up here. After all, a lot of us relish getting out the snowblower to help a neighbor, or taking to the nearest sledding or ski hill.
The effects are pretty dramatic: from a pot of water comes a giant puffy cloud of vapor.
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According to Metabunk.com, the water isn't actually freezing - it's evaporating before it has the chance to hit the ground: "The water is not 'freezing in mid air' as these videos so often describe. It's actually doing the opposite - it's evaporating into water vapor. This then very quickly condenses in the cold air as a cloud of visible 'steam' which then very quickly freezes into a dust cloud of tiny ice crystals, because they are so small."
Do we recommend you try this at home?
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No. We don't want you to get burned by scalding hot water, man!
Throwing pans of boiling water in the air for fun - it’s what we do in Wisconsin when the kids are cooped up in the house for days & days.... #PolarVortex #Wisconsin #winter #wintervortex #Science #freezing pic.twitter.com/IAxkTyavz2
— Robyn Gruner (@RobynGruner) January 31, 2019
Did the boiling water thing yesterday..... @MziScaryMonster #PolarVortex2019 #Wisconsin #USA #FreezingCold #Winter #Science pic.twitter.com/3UMJCDK9MF
— Andrew Cove (@TheGrandMadness) January 31, 2019
I had to do it, the cold challenge with the Polar Vortex vs Boiling Water in Janesville Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/fi2TvaV53y
— Monydeng Riar (@MonydengRiar) January 31, 2019
Boiling water + -32 degrees= Fabulous outcome. Not a fan of the cold weather #wisconsinweather #Wisconsin #polarvertex #PolarVortexChallenge #PolarVortex2019 @weatherchannel @WKOW @ABC @GMA #coldweather #winter #freezing pic.twitter.com/DlWNl0KHFJ
— Chris Seipel (@chris_seipel) January 31, 2019
RT RealGeneKim "RT usatodayvideo: Arctic blast in Wisconsin causes boiling water to instantly freeze into snow cloud. pic.twitter.com/gWKFhecAMX"
— Onder A. (@ondayd) January 31, 2019
It’s cold in Wisconsin! Check out the video of 2 quarts of boiling water vaporizing into a cloud. No shorts and t-shirts today! pic.twitter.com/e6t5j5OOkV
— Karl Martin (@karl_j_martin) January 31, 2019
Cold Weather + Boiling Water#PolarVotex2019 #Wisconsin #Science pic.twitter.com/WO3Npyn48d
— The Shabbiest of Gabbies (@shabbygabbyyy) January 31, 2019
WOW This is what happens when you spill boiling water and it's minus -13 degrees outside. Filmed today in Wisconsin. https://t.co/pYUWGYPn2D#polarvortex #polarvortex2019 #kcmo #kansascity #scienceexperiment #snowday pic.twitter.com/gM4JlYjChG
— KMBC (@kmbc) January 30, 2019
Sharing more cold weather fun from my cousins in Wisconsin. Alex decided to try the boiling water trick while it’s currently -20 degrees up there pic.twitter.com/3ZJnZQlXkU
— Alyssa Newton (@AlyssaKNewton) January 30, 2019
Patch File Photo by Scott Anderson
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