Polar vortex: 50 people burned in the US trying to turn boiling water into ice

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Independent

Polar vortex: 50 people burned in the US trying to turn boiling water into ice
Kashmira Gander
Thursday 09 January 2014

At least 50 people in the US attempting a trick to turn boiling water into ice have been scalded.

As the country is gripped by freezing temperatures, word has spread that boiling water can turn to ice mid-air.

US news reporters demonstrated the trick on air to illustrate how the country was in the grip of the so-called polar vortex.

“All you have to do is bundle up, get some boiling water, and throw it out in the subzero temperatures and see what happens,” said a journalist in the northern state of North Dakota, while a Minneapolis anchor tweeted: “Threw a pot of boiling water in the air. Kids thought it was awesome. Do it, people.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 50 people on social media have reported burning themselves or their friends while throwing boiling water. A common mistake was throwing the water into the wind.


Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/polar-vortex-50-people-burned-in-the-us-trying-to-turn-boiling-water-into-ice-9049721.html

[The Magistrate]

1. There Is A Reason, Ma'am, They Put Instructions For Pouring Piss Out Of a Boot On The Heel....

"You can't make tongs fool-proof, they're too ingenious."

[SamKnause]

16. Hot water

That was one of my father's favorite sayings.

He couldn't pour piss out of a boot with the directions on the heel.

Another one of his little gems was; it is slicker than a greased minnows peter.

Dad was a character.

[azurnoir]

2. They threw the boiling water into the wind?

good thing they didn't spit

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

17. Or step on Superman's cape.

[ProfessorGAC]

30. I Believe It's Tug

At least that's what Jim Croce said. And i'm sticking with him.

[AAO]

35. That's downright heartless.

[Thor_MN]

3. Or they didn't throw it high enough.

Have a friend that go water back down on his head, it hadn't all evaporated.

Who ever wrote that has never tried it. The water does not turn to ice, it evaporates. Throw it high enough, or off a balcony and not a drop will reach the ground. For those that can't safely handle a mug of hot water, blowing soap bubbles that freeze may be safer.

[CrispyQ]

10. Soap bubbles . . . I never would have thought of that.

[orleans]

26. here's a video

[CrispyQ]

32. Very cool!

[SDjack]

14. Foolish vics probably threw the boiling water into the wind. This is a variation of Rule #1 of

the Hunter: "Don't piss into the wind." As for the role of National TV weather readers showing how this is done, there is no value in such circus tricks.

[LisaL]

4. Do it, people.

Good thing he didn't tell them to go jump off bridges.

[SpankMe]

5. The stupid...it burns. N/T

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. That was only the 50 who fessed up.

I am betting................

[cosmicone]

7. Lots try for the Darwin award ... a few get it while still alive n/t

[KeepItReal]

8. Only in America

Man I love this place

[RoccoR5955]

9. You can have it!

People are just too stupid for anything any more!

[Archae]

12. And that's just the Faux "news" fans...

I mean, this morning on "Fox and Friends" the hosts threw a tantrum over the news being concentrated on Christie and the bridge, instead of Gates and his "I hate everybody" book.

[1000words]

11. Frankly, I'm surprised the number is that low

[santamargarita]

13. There is no real way to explain stupid.

[jtuck004]

15. "reported burning themselves or their friends" - So who is dumber?

Last edited Fri Jan 10, 2014, 01:15 AM - Edit history (1)

The person who throws boiling water into the wind

or

The person who stands next to someone that is throwing boiling water into the wind?


I ponder this in front of my wood stove, drinking coffee that I've allowed to cool a bit, and being thankful I and my dogs are warm.

[KatyMan]

20. nice

Nice last sentence too quite evocative!

[mattvermont]

18. It must be colder than 20-25 F below

It works great...this 'polar vortex' has everybody thinking it has never been this cold, so it must work. The simple idea is that the hot water evaporates rapidly, and by 'atomizing' it into little drops, the heat release is extremely rapid, yielding a transformation into small ice crystals. I await the chemist to correct the minutia.

[Android3.14]

27. Actually it just needs to be in the teens

I was a science teacher in Maine, and I would use this as a lesson opener when examining the different methods of heat transfer and the states of matter.
I would boil a beaker of water on a Bunsen burner, and have the students watch the demo in the parking lot or through the classroom windows. The trick works best the colder the temps, but it works fine at about 15 F.

[ProfessorGAC]

31. Colder Than -20 . . .

. . . creates a more dramatic effect, but it will work anytime it's below freezing. The colder it gets the cooler it looks, though.

Don't know if you ever read "To Build A Fire" by Jack London. (A short story o his.)

There was a thing in there about how the Yukon guys would tell how cold it was by how spit reacted at certain frigid temps.

I was on a trip to help start up a continuous hydrogenator in Saskatoon back in the late 70's. Of course, the start up was planned for early January. So, while we were there it was routinely 35 - 55 below zero at night.

I tried the Jack London trick, and sure enough, if you spit when it's 50 below, it freezes into a pellet before it even hits the ground.

[valerief]

19. Some people piss in the wind, too. nt

[tclambert]

21. Famous last words: "Hey, guys! Watch this!"

[TygrBright]

22. ahhhhhhh, stupid. The only thing more reliable than death and taxes. n/t

[yellowcanine]

23. ALL RIGHT! Is THIS a GREAT COUNTRY of WHAT?

Threw a pot of boiling water in the air. Kids thought it was awesome. Do it, people.

A common mistake was throwing the water into the wind.

Words. Fail.

And I wonder how many men whipped their dicks out and pissed into the wind?

So people did this just because some unknown dude told them to?
Brings to mind my mom's question,"Well, if everyone jumped off a cliff would you do it also?"

Apparently so.

[RadleyJ]

24. How soon until the lawsuits against the news stations?

[davidthegnome]

25. Wow.

Yeah, I saw the trick on television... but I have lived with Maine winters for twenty nine years, so it didn't really impress me. I suppose people who are unused to the cold and freezing temperatures might have thought that was really neat... but... uhm, it's one of those things you really shouldn't try at home, no matter how cool it looks.

Boiling water thrown above one's head has this tendency to come down, and damn will that burn. Doing it in freezing temperatures, I guess you can then both freeze and burn at the same time. Hmm. You know, on second thought...

We should show this trick to Christie, Lepage, Limbaugh - there are so many who might benefit from it.

[jakeXT]

28. Wallem was looking for a more dramatic effect;filling a bucket with several gallons of boiling water

On Monday, January 6th, it went wrong for 22-year-old Crystal Wallem.

“It was boiling on the stove for awhile. I actually took the temperature. It was 220 degrees or something,” Wallem said.

On her third attempt, Wallem was looking for a more dramatic effect — filling a bucket with several gallons of boiling water, but when she released it, the wind shifted, and Wallem’s back was covered in scalding water and steam.

“It hurt so bad. I was probably the worst pain I have ever felt,” Wallem said.

?w=660

http://fox6now.com/2014/01/08/woman-suffers-second-degree-burns-during-cold-weather-experiement/

[Blandocyte]

33. Hot looking!

My dad used to say, "If you're gonna be stupid, ya better be tough"

[RandiFan1290]

29. heh

[truthisfreedom]

34. Sigh. I hate burns. I would never try throwing boiling water around.

Suggesting it was teh stupid in full blown action.