how people in extremely cold places can survive? For example, Oymyakon in Siberia regularly gets below – 55°c / – 67°f, and I’m sure we’ve all seen those videos of people throwing boiling water into the air where it freezes instantly. How does blood not freeze? How are mucous membranes and eyeballs not frozen within seconds? How does anybody pee without it instantly freezing?
Obviously people live in heated housing, but how can people go outside/ pee outside without injury? I’ve wondered about this for years, and even more so when I see pictures of animals seemingly frozen in place mid-movement.
Thank you
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I’m more curious, why did humans even decide to move to such climates to begin with?
You pretty much just don’t go outside. The nice thing is that at -55 there’s hardly any moisture in the air so there’s pretty much no way it can snow until it warms up.
> I’ve wondered about this for years, and even more so when I see pictures of animals seemingly frozen in place mid-movement.
Those pictures are fake. Somebody found a dead animal that froze after it died and stood it back up to take a dramatic picture. Once they’re frozen solid they’re stiff as a board and you can just pose them however. Its not like they were alive one moment and suddenly froze solid like video game ice magic. Freezing 100lbs of meat takes several hours at least.
I came across this video a few months back where a woman who lives in Yakutia, Siberia (where it gets to -70c) explains what kind of stuff she wears to go outside. It’s one of the few instances of people wearing real animal fur that I can get behind. Faux fur has the style aspect down but really cannot insulate as well.
I lived in North Dakota for 4 years for college and I don’t even understand how I survived. How people can live in a place that cold for their entire lives boggles my mind. It’s misery. They say “you just get used to it.” But how do you get used to that physical pain that hurts every part of your body?!
Those temperatures are usually only for a few days. I live in cold -20 to -40c and windchill can reach -50s
You kinda get used to it and climatize a bit. You stay inside, you dress in layers, you go inside when you have to. Your clothes keep you warm when moving. I would run outside all year -45c and running 15k in the morning. https://i.imgur.com/RIKNROQ.jpg
My biggest fear would be dressing too warm. You sweat and can get dehydrated and then freeze from being wet. Proper clothes and layers helps you out.
Bluf: don’t be outside any more than absolutely necessary, and proper clothing. You’ll live.
Live in Fairbanks, AK, and have to do multiple annual arctic survival type things (army) each winter. Yeah, people generally don’t just stand around in those temperatures. When you are outside, it’s impressive how quickly thermodynamics works. Your stored body heat in your clothes is sapped in minutes. Layered clothing has a huge role to play. Layer up, have insulated layers under your outermost layer. That insulated layer stores the heat your body generates. Have as little exposed skin possible. Always use gloves to avoid contact frostbite. I could go on.
In training it was (cleverly) pointed out to us that basically your body is attempting to heat up the world surrounding you, from the atmosphere to the ground below. That’s obviously a huge struggle. Any wind, or you walking around, and any air you’ve heated leaves. So your body is constantly struggling a losing battle, burning tons of calories to warm the insulated layer you have on. Without that layer, you won’t last long.
Edit: wording.
Edit again: I put it at the top, since my use of bluf seems to be the highlight of my comment lol
Just… Don’t pee outside when it’s under 40below?
Inuk from Iqaluit, Nunavut.
I walk to work all-year long, though it only takes about half an hour to get to my office.
With appropriate winter attire – 60 is doable. Beyond this though, your body does acclimatize to the cold.
Having said that, what we call most southerners (ie most of the Canadians that have replied), dont tend to go outside in – 60.
Funny story, one of my ancestors was a guide for some expiditions that would come here and he’d have to ‘guide’ the people for them to be able to pee.
Modern science is just now starting to catch up with Inuit traditional knowledge, by that I mean you don’t need to wear polar bear hide clothing / caribou clothing to survive up here but it helps.
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