How seasonal affective disorder works
Winter is coming. And Scientific American's Bora Zivkovik has a detailed explanation of the biological basics behind seasonal affective disorder.
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Alaskan town has 176 inches of snow on the ground
Hey, guys, I figured out where all of Minnesota's winter snow went. It's in Cordova, Alaska. Since Nov. 1, storms have dropped 176 inches of snow and more than 44 inches of rain on the town, about 150...
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Reminder: BoingBoing meetup in Minneapolis on Saturday
Twin Cities Boingers will be meeting up this Saturday afternoon. The meetup is ostensibly scheduled around the Art Sled Rally in Powderhorn Park, but will still happen even if there isn't enough snow...
View ArticleGoodbye "Snowmageddon XIX", hello "Gandolf"
The Weather Channel has decided to begin naming winter storms the way we already name tropical storms. But while tropical storm nomenclature is an organized and official process, carried out by a...
View ArticleSomething to keep you warm when it's nippy out
Earlier this year, construction workers discovered what is now the world's oldest known bra. It dates to the 15th century and was found with a bunch of other clothing, stuffed between the floors of an...
View ArticleHow snowflakes get their shapes
Not all snowflakes are unique in their shape. There's one fact for you. And here's another: The shape of snowflakes — whether individually distinct or mass-production common — is determined by...
View ArticleWhat to drink this winter — according to Smithsonian
Smithsonian's Food and Think blog has a (Northern-hemispherically biased) list of ideal Christmas/wintertime drinks — along with some cool history about where those drinks come from and how they're...
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How plants stay warm
Plants and animals have to adapt to live in high latitudes and chilly mountain environments. With animals, we kind of instinctively know what makes a creature cold-weather ready — thick, shaggy fur;...
View ArticleHow to: Instantly turn water into snow
Chalk this up under "Blogs You Ought to be Following". The Tumblr Fuck Yeah Fluid Dynamics is a great place to find succinct, clear explanations of the forces that make things flow. In particular,...
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Rainbow-colored igloo
This beautiful, rainbow hued igloo was designed by Edmonton's Brigid Burton, who wanted to entertain her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend (an engineer student), visiting from New Zealand over...
View ArticleThe science of flu season
Flu season is in winter. Okay, great. But why? (Consider this an open thread for all your favorite humidifier recommendations.)
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Science proves that you should wear glittens
They're the mullet of cold-protective clothing. Half glove, half mitten — really, fingerless gloves with a handy mitten flip-top. They are also fantastic. Now, partly, this is a matter of personal...
View ArticleThe evolution of white fur and an animal sex scandal
Up north — in Canada and other places where snowy winters are reliable (and reliably heavy) — you find more animals whose fur comes in various shades of white. This is true even for species that are...
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A frozen egg
This happened in my friend's henhouse this morning. My friend Kate Hastings, who took this photo, thinks this egg froze because the hen cracked it slightly. But it also looks like the kind of...
View ArticleWhat we really feel when we feel "cold"
Temperature is just a measure of jigglyness, says Henry Reich of Minute Physics. Not in the "I don't think you're ready for this jelly" sense, but at the scale of atoms. And it's this jiggle that can...
View ArticleThe cheesy streets of Milwaukee
Back in September, the city of Milwaukee announced that it would be spreading cheese brine on its streets this winter in a pilot program to see whether the salty liquid could reduce the amount of rock...
View ArticleMilwaukee clears ice with cheese-brine/road-salt slurry
It's a pilot program, and admirably thrifty and ingenious. Provolone or mozzarella have the saltiest brine and are best for clearing the ice. Brine is mixed with salt to make it into a wet, sticky...
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Coloured ice fortress
Redditor Unspeakablefilth lives in northern Ontario, where December was plenty cold (daytime highs of -25C!). He made the best of an icy situation by freezing blocks of coloured ice in shifts, a new...
View ArticleBundle up and be inspired: Winter cyclists of Minnesota
In Minneapolis, an estimated 4000 people ride their bikes as part of a daily commute — year round. (The number doubles for the non-winter months.) At the Pedal Minnesota blog, you can see some of their...
View ArticleInside the ice-crusted sea caves of Lake Superior
For the first time since 2009, the coastline of Lake Superior has frozen hard enough that people can venture out onto the ice and into the sea caves that line the shore near Wisconsin's Apostle...
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