Results: Winter "Wonder" Facts
Published on 01/15/2019
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
Comments
1.
1.
According to the calendar winter started December 21st, but depending on where you live in these two countries of ours, it has not started yet (Ontario), been raging for months (Quebec), been one for the record books (Newfoundland) or not even as issue (Florida). Whatever your winter looks like, here are some fun facts about the season to interest you. Which of these did you know?
You wouldn't be shocked to see snow on the ground of Manitoba or Minnesota during the winter months. But northern areas don't have a monopoly on snowfall—snow has been known to touch down everywhere from the Sahara Desert to Hawaii. Even the driest place on Earth isn't immune. In 2011, the Atacama Desert in Chile received nearly 32 inches of snow thanks to a rare cold front from Antarctica.
19%
439 votes
Aomori City in northern Japan receives more snowfall than any major city on the planet. Each year citizens are pummeled with 312 inches, or about 26 feet, of snow on average.
6%
146 votes
Freezing rain and sleet can both have scary effects on driving conditions, but their formations differ in some key ways. Both types of precipitation occur when rain formed in warm air in the sky passes through a layer of cold air near the ground. Thicker layers of cold air create sleet, a slushy form of water that's semi-frozen by the time it reaches the Earth. Thinner layers don't give rain enough time to freeze until it hits the surface of the ground—it then forms a thin coat of ice wherever it lands.
32%
751 votes
The air doesn't need to be super moist to produce impressive amounts of snow. Unlike plain rainfall, a bank of fluffy snow contains lots of air that adds to its bulk. That's why what would have been an inch of rain in the summer equals about 10 inches of snow in the colder months.
25%
581 votes
Knew none of these
53%
1246 votes
2.
2.
How about this next set of trivia?
According to the Guinness World Records, on January 28, 1887, a snowflake 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick fell in Fort Keogh, Montana, making it the largest snowflake ever observed
7%
158 votes
Chionophobia is the persistent fear of snow, especially becoming trapped by snow. The term is derived from the Greek words chion and phobos, meaning "snow" and "fear," respectively
6%
138 votes
Winter cold kills more than twice as many Americans as summer heat does
21%
503 votes
The onset of menopause is significantly higher in winter than in spring or autumn, with a smaller peak in summer
5%
122 votes
None of these
69%
1632 votes
3.
3.
And just for the record, how many of these winter records were you familiar with?
The largest recorded snowman ever built was in Bethel, Maine, in February 1999. The 113-foot, 7-inch snowman broke the previous record held by Yamagata, Japan, at 96 feet and 7 inches.
5%
121 votes
Mt. Baker ski area in Washington state holds the world record for snowfall at 1,140 inches of snow during the 1998–1999 winter season
5%
119 votes
The most snow ever recorded in 24 hours in the United States was at Silver Lake, Colorado, in 1921 at 76 inches. Coming in second is Georgetown, Colorado, in December 4, 1913, at 63 inches
6%
143 votes
The old Mount Shasta Ski Bowl in northern California holds the record for the most snow received from a single storm system. A total of 15.75 feet (189 inches) of snow was measured Feb. 13-19, 1959.
4%
98 votes
The coldest place in Canada based on average yearly temperature is Eureka, Nunavut, where the temperature averages at -19.7 °C or -3.5 °F for the year. However, the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada was -63 °C or -81.4 °F in Snag, Yukon.
10%
234 votes
Winnipeg, Manitoba has the coldest winter weather of any major Canadian city. It ranks first for the lowest average temperatures. Winnipeg also is Canada's city that most often drops to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) or below and it is least likely to have a day above freezing during winter.
12%
293 votes
Rochester, New York gets more snow than any other large city in the United States, with a yearly average of nearly 100 inches (255 cm).
8%
187 votes
Knew none of these
69%
1621 votes
4.
4.
If you ever saw the movie, A Christmas Story, you may recall this scene. As immortalized in the 1983 classic, a kid named Flick gets his tongue stuck to a frozen pole after being triple-dog dared to lick it. Well before the movie, growing up in Winnipeg, as a kid, it was inevitable that every winter, at least one person would end up trying this stunt. When the temperature drops, cold metal can draw heat out of your tongue's saliva and freeze its water content, basically transforming your spit into a kind of superglue. Your textured taste buds also help grip the chilly surface, which only adds to an already uncomfortable bonding experience. It would not be winter without a visit by the Winnipeg fire department to help at least one kid come "unglued". Have you ever witnessed anyone trying this stunt, or did you yourself try it?
Never
51%
1195 votes
Saw someone try it
20%
478 votes
I tried it
12%
284 votes
Have never lived where it is cold enough to do this
17%
401 votes
COMMENTS