The Cold, Hard Facts
Sunday
Temperature is a measurement of how fast the atoms in something are moving, so an object with slower-moving atoms is perceived as colder relative to other nearby items. At “absolute zero,” however, all atomic motion in an object stops, and hence it cannot get any colder. That temperature is recorded at -273.15 degrees Celsius.
Monday
Glaciers appear blue on the inside because the interior ice has often been compressed under other layers of ice and snow for a very long time. This squeezes the air bubbles and empty spaces out, which normally scatter white light to make snow and regular ice look white. Without these light-scattering bubbles, the denser ice absorbs longer-wavelength colors but reflects blue back, giving the turquoise appearance.
Tuesday
The “common cold” is a mild upper respiratory tract infection that could come from over 200 viruses known to cause those symptoms. The name comes from the idea that you can “catch” cold by being out in cold weather.
Wednesday
At least part of the old health advice to “feed a cold and starve a fever” goes back 450 years, and is still repeated today. But whether your have cold symptoms and/or a fever, eating much more or less is unnecessary. Your body still needs enough nutrition to function and fight the disease, and fluids are especially important.
Thursday
George Orwell himself coined the term “Cold War,” and it came to refer to the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and U.S.S.R., both nuclear powers, between 1947 and 1991. Rather than being fought directly on the battlefield, this rivalry instead manifested in proxy wars, espionage, ideology, propaganda, and economic and political alliances.
Friday
“Cold calling,” or making a sales call to a person you have no previous relationship with, is effectively the successor to door-to-door salesmanship for the telephone age, and the earliest reference of the term appears soon after the average household could afford to have a telephone.
Saturday
Satellite data taken from East Antarctica has recorded temperatures as low as -98 Celsius (-144F), the lowest observed temperature on Earth, and the same study suggested that it may not be possible to get any colder than this on our planet’s surface.