1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum. Here in early March of 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: a four year old Ohio girl named Madison Gardner had 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: just turned home with her mother, Brittany, from a shopping trip. 5 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,840 Speaker 1: As her mom was unloading the car, Madison walked up 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: the front stoop to enter the house. She grabbed the 7 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: door handle, turned the knob, and then suddenly went for 8 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: a ride. Like the tornado that swept Dorothy and Toto 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 1: to Oz, a gale blew Madison's front door open, turning 10 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: it into a sale with a tiny tot hanging on 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: for dear life. Don't worry, Madison wasn't hurt, but the 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: episode proves that yes, the wind can blow a person 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: off their feet, and it's happened other times too. Also 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: in March, organizers of the Cape Town cycle Tour, which 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: drew thirty five thousand riders, had to cancel the event 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: when winds topped sixty miles per hour. That's kilometers per hour, 17 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: knocking riders off their bike. But how let's start with 18 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 1: the basics. The wind is always blowing. It can be 19 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: as calm as a warm summer breeze or as destructive 20 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: as a gust, and the strongest hurricane wind blows because 21 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: of pressure differences in the atmosphere, The Sun hits parts 22 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: of the planet at different angles, warming Earth's atmosphere unevenly. 23 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: As a result, some places are warmer than others. Because 24 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 1: of this uneven temperature, the gases in the atmosphere start 25 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: to shift and dance. Where the air temperature is hotter, 26 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: air molecules expand and move upward, creating pockets of low 27 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: air pressure. On the other hand, cold air temperatures press 28 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: air molecules together, causing them to sink, creating areas of 29 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: high air pressure. When molecules flow from high pressure areas 30 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: to low pressure areas, hang onto your hat, or, as 31 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: Madison abruptly learned, the door handle. The wind can blow, 32 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: sometimes violently. Meteorologists use the Beaufort wind scale to measure 33 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: the force of wind. The scale starts at zero, which 34 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: is a calm breeze, and ends at twelve, which is 35 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: a hurricane force wind of more than sixty four miles 36 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: per hour about a hundred and three kilometers per hour. Still, 37 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: at what point can wind move a person? We spoke 38 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: of Kate Parker, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel, and 39 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: she explained that it depends on a lot of things. 40 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: The formula has to take into consideration a few variables, 41 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: including the velocity of the wind, the effect of gravity, 42 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: which is of course the force of attraction between a 43 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: person and the earth, static friction which is the force 44 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: that keeps a person anchored to the ground, and drag 45 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: from the wind, which is the opposing force of static friction. 46 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: Parker added, you'd also have to take into account the 47 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: density of the air. Is it super moist or heavy, 48 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 1: is it dry? Is it lighter? A person's mass and 49 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: center of gravity also need to be factored in. For instance, 50 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: little Madison didn't have much mass, so the wind easily 51 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: took her for a ride. The wind would have had 52 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: to blow much harder to lift an adult off their feet, 53 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: especially if they braced themselves, say in a steady crouch. 54 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: Parker said, if you're a larger person or a heavier person, 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: it would take a lot more force to knock you 56 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,680 Speaker 1: off your feet. For a person who weighs a hundred 57 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: pounds round forty five kilos, it would take a wind 58 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: speed of forty to forty five miles an hour or 59 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: tropical storm force to move them. Today's episode was written 60 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: by Jesscelin Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For more 61 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: on this and lots of other curious topics, visit how 62 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. 63 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 64 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.