WEBVTT - 9 Snowy Facts to get you through your Snow Day

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what, mango? What's that will? So I was away

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<v Speaker 1>earlier in the week, but I hear you guys had

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<v Speaker 1>a big snow day here in Atlanta. Yeah, that's right.

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<v Speaker 1>We stayed home from the office, my kids drove me bonkers,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course it didn't snow at all. Yeah. That's uh,

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<v Speaker 1>that's life in the South. I hope you get used

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<v Speaker 1>to it, but you know, I still feel like we

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<v Speaker 1>should do this week's nine Things in honor of snow.

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<v Speaker 1>So I've got a fact to kick us off here.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that in March Syracuse actually tried to

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<v Speaker 1>ban snow. There was this record snowfall that season. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it was like a hundred and sixty something inches,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the city council this was a great idea

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<v Speaker 1>that unanimously approved this resolution to outlast snowfall in the

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<v Speaker 1>city of Syracuse until December of the following year. I

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<v Speaker 1>like that. So obviously they're like holding it off until

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas Eve, which is great. But did it work not

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<v Speaker 1>at all. In fact, Mother Nature wasn't in a listening

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<v Speaker 1>mood and its snow two days later. But it did

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<v Speaker 1>give the citizens something to smile about, you know, during

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<v Speaker 1>this really tough winter season. And so that's just the

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<v Speaker 1>first of nine facts about snow. Let's dig in. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>their podcast listeners, Welcome to part time Genius. I'm Will

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<v Speaker 1>Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good friend

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<v Speaker 1>Man Guesh Ticketer and on the other side of the

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<v Speaker 1>soundproof glass, sitting with a snowman preparedness kid on his desk.

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<v Speaker 1>I was curious what this thing was. I'd look at

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<v Speaker 1>it before we came in the studio. It's it's just

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<v Speaker 1>like a ziplog bag with a carrot and some pieces

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<v Speaker 1>of coal and I think like a corn cob pipe

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<v Speaker 1>in it. Yeah, Tristan is always prepared. Yeah, just you

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<v Speaker 1>just you take it and you just wait to stick

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<v Speaker 1>it in a snow man. And so that's from our

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<v Speaker 1>good pal and our producer, Tristan McNeil to Mago. I

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<v Speaker 1>know you're disappointed it didn't snow more, but at least

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<v Speaker 1>we've got a show full of wintry facts. So so

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<v Speaker 1>what do you want to start with? So I've got

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<v Speaker 1>a pretty good one. Um. Have you ever heard of

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<v Speaker 1>yacki gossim? And I'm sure I'm pronouncing that wrong. I

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<v Speaker 1>have not heard of it, but I am certain you're

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<v Speaker 1>pronouncing it wrong. Yeah. So it's a massive Japanese snowball

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<v Speaker 1>fight that's apparently similar to Capture the Flag, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>played in three minute rounds and it's two teams of

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<v Speaker 1>seven people. You actually get ninety pre made snowballs for

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<v Speaker 1>each team to start, and then players get eliminated when

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<v Speaker 1>they get hit by the snowballs. The other thing that's

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<v Speaker 1>weird about it is that the players wear helmets to

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<v Speaker 1>protect their heads. And while I am generally wharrey of

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<v Speaker 1>playing any game that requires you to wear a helmet

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<v Speaker 1>with a face mask, this one looks really fun. So

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<v Speaker 1>I'm kind of ready for it to be an Olympic sport.

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<v Speaker 1>That does sound so fun, But I love that it

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<v Speaker 1>must be so rough that they have to wear helmets

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<v Speaker 1>with face masks. All right, well, speaking of dangerous snowball fights,

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<v Speaker 1>because I've got one here. I learned about this from

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<v Speaker 1>the British show q I that you and I have

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<v Speaker 1>talked about several times before. But it's actually a snowball

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<v Speaker 1>fight that you know, a parent might use as an

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<v Speaker 1>example of why you shouldn't participate in a snowball fight.

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<v Speaker 1>So back in fifteen forty six, a general named Francois

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<v Speaker 1>de Bourbon got into this snowball fight and it got

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<v Speaker 1>pretty rowdy, and so he ducked under a window to

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<v Speaker 1>get a breather from it all, and someone then threw

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<v Speaker 1>a linen chest out of their window. It landed on

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<v Speaker 1>his head, and he unfortunately died a few days later.

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, kids, you've got to be really careful.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a pretty good lesson about what can happen

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<v Speaker 1>in snowball fight. I'm not trying that really applies to

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<v Speaker 1>most snowball fights, but I don't know. So here's a

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<v Speaker 1>fact about snowman. Did you know that Michelangelo used to

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<v Speaker 1>carve in snow? So this is from Jake Rosen at

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<v Speaker 1>Metal Flass. But early in Michelangelo's career he had a

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<v Speaker 1>patriot named Piero da Medici, you know, from the Medici family.

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<v Speaker 1>But Medici really didn't know what he wanted the young

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<v Speaker 1>artist to do for him, so mostly he kind of

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<v Speaker 1>used him as the like personal shopper or interior decorator.

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<v Speaker 1>He kind of like picked out works of art for him.

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<v Speaker 1>And then one day, when it snowed, he got this

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<v Speaker 1>great idea and decided to task Michelangelo with making him

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<v Speaker 1>a snowman, and obviously, like Micgelangelow's skills are so great.

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<v Speaker 1>But uh um, there are no detailed images of how

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<v Speaker 1>this snowman looked, except that it is on the historical

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<v Speaker 1>record that it looked, quote very beautiful. That's pretty good.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Well, here's a quick one about building a snowman.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you realize that building one can actually be a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty good workout? And Pop Sugar looked into this and

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<v Speaker 1>they found that building a snowman for an hour will

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<v Speaker 1>burn about two and eighty five calories. You can have

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<v Speaker 1>a snowball fight and that burns about three hundred nineteen calories.

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<v Speaker 1>And then if you spend that full hour, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just an hour making a snow angel, you can burn

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred and fourteen calories, which is about what you'd

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<v Speaker 1>burn if you walked uphill for an hour, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>an hour of making snow angel sounds like total torture. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you're probably right. So you know, I'm a huge fan

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<v Speaker 1>of Calvin Hobbson. One of my favorite themes in the

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<v Speaker 1>strip is when Calvin builds all these hilarious and horrific

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<v Speaker 1>snowmen in his front yard and it's often too the

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<v Speaker 1>horror of his parents. But according to the History of Snowmen,

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<v Speaker 1>which is this wonderful book, um, this was actually a

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<v Speaker 1>popular activity in the nineteen hundreds. Apparently snowmen were often

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<v Speaker 1>used as like a comic stand in for violence and uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Illustrations from the early nineteen hundreds show them being javelin

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<v Speaker 1>with brooms or run through with Toboggan's. M All right, well,

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<v Speaker 1>here's a weird snow fact I had no idea about.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that there was a heavy snow the

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<v Speaker 1>day before JFK's inauguration and really heavy winds too, and

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<v Speaker 1>all of this was threatening the presidential parade from actually

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<v Speaker 1>being able to happen. So in steps the Army Corps

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<v Speaker 1>of Engineers. They worked through the night to clear the path.

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<v Speaker 1>They moved something like fourteen hundred cars from the inaugural route,

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<v Speaker 1>and they got to use, you know, in addition to

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<v Speaker 1>sanders and plows and all the usual stuff. Something that

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<v Speaker 1>I got excited to read about, they actually got to

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<v Speaker 1>use flame throwers to get rid of the snow. How

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<v Speaker 1>much fun would that be? And so in the morning

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<v Speaker 1>sent hundred boy scouts pitched in to help them finish

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<v Speaker 1>the job, and of course the roads were clear in

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<v Speaker 1>time for the inauguration. That's really sweet and I've never

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<v Speaker 1>heard that. So here's a fun tip I never expected

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<v Speaker 1>to use. In two thousand ten, the Ignoble Prize for

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<v Speaker 1>Physics went to this team from New Zealand at the

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<v Speaker 1>University of Otago, and they showed that quote. On ice

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<v Speaker 1>footpaths in the wintertime, people slip and fall less often

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<v Speaker 1>if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes.

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<v Speaker 1>What a helpful fact there, Mango. Thanks for Yeah, you

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<v Speaker 1>can wear your socks a shoe condom. That's right, that's right. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>speaking of really productive science, you know that old saying

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<v Speaker 1>about no two snowflakes looking alike. Apparently it's not exactly true.

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<v Speaker 1>The New York Times reports that a scientist named Kenneth

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<v Speaker 1>liebric that the California Institute of Technology he grows twins

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<v Speaker 1>snowflakes in a lab. And according to the article, it's

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<v Speaker 1>not so much as snowflakes original structure, but it's the

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<v Speaker 1>path that it takes through the atmosphere, you know, all

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<v Speaker 1>the twists and turns and volatility, and that's what makes

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<v Speaker 1>it unique. But in the lab, it's a pretty different story.

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<v Speaker 1>The Libricks process takes in between fifteen minutes to an

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<v Speaker 1>hour or so to grow a pair of snowflakes, but

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<v Speaker 1>he defends his idea of making flakes that look alike,

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<v Speaker 1>and as he puts it, we haven't violated any laws

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<v Speaker 1>of physics. We just found a loophole. That's pretty cool

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<v Speaker 1>and it's amazing that you can grow a pair of

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<v Speaker 1>snowflakes in the in the lab. But it also kind

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<v Speaker 1>of makes me feel less special. Oh well, man, go

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want you to feel less special. So you

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<v Speaker 1>know what, I think the really useless fact that you

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<v Speaker 1>gave about the sock over the shoe, that that maybe

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<v Speaker 1>that gives you the prize today. So I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>give you today's fact off trophy. I like using sympathy

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<v Speaker 1>as a way to get you to give me the trophy. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>so thank you and thank you guys for listening. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>be back with a full length episode tomorrow. M