Guess what, mango?

Guess what, mango?

What's that will?

What's that will?

I was away earlier in the week, but I hear you guys had a big snow day here in Atlanta.

I was away earlier in the week, but I hear you guys had a big snow day here in Atlanta.

Yeah, that's right. We stayed home from the office, my kids drove me bonkers, and of course it didn't snow at all.

Yeah, that's right. We stayed home from the office, my kids drove me bonkers, and of course it didn't snow at all.

Yeah, that's that's life in the South.

Yeah, that's that's life in the South.

I hope you get used to it, but you know, I still feel like we should do this week's nine Things in honor of snow. So I've got a fact to kick us off here. Did you know that on March thirtieth of nineteen ninety two, Syracuse actually tried to ban snow. There was this record snowfall that season. I think it was like one hundred and sixty something inches, and so the city council this was a great idea. They unanimously approved this resolution to outlaw snowfall in the city of Syracuse until December twenty fourth of the following year.

I hope you get used to it, but you know, I still feel like we should do this week's nine Things in honor of snow. So I've got a fact to kick us off here. Did you know that on March thirtieth of nineteen ninety two, Syracuse actually tried to ban snow. There was this record snowfall that season. I think it was like one hundred and sixty something inches, and so the city council this was a great idea. They unanimously approved this resolution to outlaw snowfall in the city of Syracuse until December twenty fourth of the following year.

I like that. So obviously they're like holding it off until Christmas Eve, which is great.

I like that. So obviously they're like holding it off until Christmas Eve, which is great.

But did it work not at all.

But did it work not at all.

In fact, Mother Nature wasn't in a listening mood, and it snowed two days later. But it did give the citizens something to smile about, you know, during this really tough winter season. And so that's just the first of nine facts about snow.

In fact, Mother Nature wasn't in a listening mood, and it snowed two days later. But it did give the citizens something to smile about, you know, during this really tough winter season. And so that's just the first of nine facts about snow.

Let's dig in.

Let's dig in.

Hey there, podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good friend Mangesha Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof glass sitting with a snowman preparedness kid on his desk. I was curious what this thing was, so I had to look at it before we came in the studio. It's just like a ziploc bag with a carrot and some pieces of coal and I think like a corn cob pipe in it.

Hey there, podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good friend Mangesha Ticketer and on the other side of the soundproof glass sitting with a snowman preparedness kid on his desk. I was curious what this thing was, so I had to look at it before we came in the studio. It's just like a ziploc bag with a carrot and some pieces of coal and I think like a corn cob pipe in it.

Yeah, Tristan's always prepared.

Yeah, Tristan's always prepared.

Yeah, just you just you take it and you just wait to stick it in a snowman. And so that's from our good pal and our producer, Tristan McNeil to mego, I know you're disappointed it didn't snow more, but at least we've got a show full of wintry facts.

Yeah, just you just you take it and you just wait to stick it in a snowman. And so that's from our good pal and our producer, Tristan McNeil to mego, I know you're disappointed it didn't snow more, but at least we've got a show full of wintry facts.

So what do you want to start with?

So what do you want to start with?

So I've got a pretty good one. Have you ever heard of Yaki Gossen? And I'm sure I'm pronouncing that wrong.

So I've got a pretty good one. Have you ever heard of Yaki Gossen? And I'm sure I'm pronouncing that wrong.

I have not heard of it, but I am certain you're pronouncing it wrong.

I have not heard of it, but I am certain you're pronouncing it wrong.

Yeah. So it's a massive Japanese snowball fight that's apparently similar to Capture the Flag, but it's played in three minute rounds and it's two teams of seven people. You actually get ninety pre made snowballs for each team to start, and then players get eliminated when they get hit by the snowballs. The other thing that's weird about it is that the players wear helmets to protect their heads. And while I am generally wary of playing any game that requires you to wear a helmet with a face mask, this one looks really fun, so I'm kind of ready for it to be an Olympic sport.

Yeah. So it's a massive Japanese snowball fight that's apparently similar to Capture the Flag, but it's played in three minute rounds and it's two teams of seven people. You actually get ninety pre made snowballs for each team to start, and then players get eliminated when they get hit by the snowballs. The other thing that's weird about it is that the players wear helmets to protect their heads. And while I am generally wary of playing any game that requires you to wear a helmet with a face mask, this one looks really fun, so I'm kind of ready for it to be an Olympic sport.

That does sound so fun, But I love that it must be so rough that they have to wear helmets with face masks. All right, well, speaking of dangerous snowball fights, because I've got one here. I learned about this from the British show QI that you and I have talked about several times before. But it's actually a snowball fight that you know, a parent might use as an example of why you shouldn't participate in a snowball fight.

That does sound so fun, But I love that it must be so rough that they have to wear helmets with face masks. All right, well, speaking of dangerous snowball fights, because I've got one here. I learned about this from the British show QI that you and I have talked about several times before. But it's actually a snowball fight that you know, a parent might use as an example of why you shouldn't participate in a snowball fight.

Uh huh.

Uh huh.

So back in fifteen forty six, a general named Francois de Bourbon got into this snowball fight and it got pretty rowdy, and so he ducked under a window to get a breather from it all, and someone then threw a linen chest out of their window. It landed on his head, and he unfortunately died a few days later. So you know, kids, you gotta be really careful. This is a pretty good lesson about what can happen in snowball fight.

So back in fifteen forty six, a general named Francois de Bourbon got into this snowball fight and it got pretty rowdy, and so he ducked under a window to get a breather from it all, and someone then threw a linen chest out of their window. It landed on his head, and he unfortunately died a few days later. So you know, kids, you gotta be really careful. This is a pretty good lesson about what can happen in snowball fight.

I'm not sure that really applies to most snowball fights, but I don't know. So here's a fact about snowman. Did you know that Michelangelo used to carve in snow? So this is from Jake Rosen at Mental Floss. But early in Michelangelo's career he had a patroon named Piero de Medici, you know, from the Medici family. But Medici really didn't know what he wanted the young artist to do for him, so mostly he kind of used him as this like personal shopper or interior decorator. He kind of like picked out works of art for him. And then one day, when it snowed, he got this great idea and decided to task Michelangelo with making him a snowman. And obviously, like mclangelo's skills are so great, but there are no detailed images of how the snowman looked, except that it is on the historical record that it looked quote very beautiful.

I'm not sure that really applies to most snowball fights, but I don't know. So here's a fact about snowman. Did you know that Michelangelo used to carve in snow? So this is from Jake Rosen at Mental Floss. But early in Michelangelo's career he had a patroon named Piero de Medici, you know, from the Medici family. But Medici really didn't know what he wanted the young artist to do for him, so mostly he kind of used him as this like personal shopper or interior decorator. He kind of like picked out works of art for him. And then one day, when it snowed, he got this great idea and decided to task Michelangelo with making him a snowman. And obviously, like mclangelo's skills are so great, but there are no detailed images of how the snowman looked, except that it is on the historical record that it looked quote very beautiful.

That's pretty good.

That's pretty good.

All right, Well, here's a quick one about building a snowman. Did you realize that building one can actually be a pretty good workout? And Pop Sugar looked into this and they found that building a snowman for an hour will burn about two hundred and eighty five calories. You can have a snowball fight and that burns about three hundred and nineteen calories. And then if you spend that full hour, you know, just an hour making a snow angel, you can burn two hundred and fourteen calories, which is about what you'd burn if you walked uphill for an hour.

All right, Well, here's a quick one about building a snowman. Did you realize that building one can actually be a pretty good workout? And Pop Sugar looked into this and they found that building a snowman for an hour will burn about two hundred and eighty five calories. You can have a snowball fight and that burns about three hundred and nineteen calories. And then if you spend that full hour, you know, just an hour making a snow angel, you can burn two hundred and fourteen calories, which is about what you'd burn if you walked uphill for an hour.

I mean an hour of making snow angel. Sounds like total torture.

I mean an hour of making snow angel. Sounds like total torture.

Yeah, you're probably right.

Yeah, you're probably right.

So you know, I'm a huge fan of Calvin Hobbson. One of my favorite themes in the strip is when Calvin builds all these hilarious and horrific snowmen in his front yard, and it's often to the horror of his parents. But according to the History of Snowmen, which is this wonderful book, this was actually a popular activity in the nineteen hundreds. Apparently snowmen were often used as like a comic stand in for violence, and illustrations from the early nineteen hundreds show them being javelin with brooms or run through with toboggans.

So you know, I'm a huge fan of Calvin Hobbson. One of my favorite themes in the strip is when Calvin builds all these hilarious and horrific snowmen in his front yard, and it's often to the horror of his parents. But according to the History of Snowmen, which is this wonderful book, this was actually a popular activity in the nineteen hundreds. Apparently snowmen were often used as like a comic stand in for violence, and illustrations from the early nineteen hundreds show them being javelin with brooms or run through with toboggans.

All right, well, here's a weird snowffact I had no idea about. Did you know that there was a heavy snow the day before JFK's inauguration and really heavy winds too, and all of this was threatening the presidential parade from actually being able to happen. So in steps the Army Corps of Engineers. They worked through the night to clear the path. They moved something like fourteen hundred cars from the inaugural route, and they got to use, you know, in addition to sanders and plows and all the usual stuff. Something that I got excited to read about, they actually got to use flamethrowers to get rid of the snow.

All right, well, here's a weird snowffact I had no idea about. Did you know that there was a heavy snow the day before JFK's inauguration and really heavy winds too, and all of this was threatening the presidential parade from actually being able to happen. So in steps the Army Corps of Engineers. They worked through the night to clear the path. They moved something like fourteen hundred cars from the inaugural route, and they got to use, you know, in addition to sanders and plows and all the usual stuff. Something that I got excited to read about, they actually got to use flamethrowers to get rid of the snow.

How much fun would that be?

How much fun would that be?

So fun?

So fun?

And so in the morning, seventeen hundred boy Scouts pitched in to help them finish the job, and of course the roads were clear in time for the inauguration.

And so in the morning, seventeen hundred boy Scouts pitched in to help them finish the job, and of course the roads were clear in time for the inauguration.

That's really sweet and I never heard that. So here's a fun tip I never expected to use. In twenty ten, the Ignobel Prize for physics went to this team from New Zealand at the University of Otago, and they showed that quote. On ice footpaths in the wintertime, people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes.

That's really sweet and I never heard that. So here's a fun tip I never expected to use. In twenty ten, the Ignobel Prize for physics went to this team from New Zealand at the University of Otago, and they showed that quote. On ice footpaths in the wintertime, people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes.

What a helpful fact there, Mango, thanks for.

What a helpful fact there, Mango, thanks for.

Having Yeah, you can wear your sock as a shoe condom.

Having Yeah, you can wear your sock as a shoe condom.

That's right, that's right.

That's right, that's right.

Well, speaking of really productive science, you know that old saying about no two snowflakes looking alike. Apparently it's not exactly true. The New York Times reports that a scientist named Kenneth Liebrick at the California Institute of Technology. He grows twins snowflakes in a lab and according to the article, it's not so much as snowflakes original structure, but it's the path that it takes through the atmosphere. You know, all the twists and turns and volatility, and that's what makes it unique. But in the lab it's a pretty different story. So Libric's process takes in between fifteen minutes to an hour or so to grow a pair of snowflakes, but he defends his idea of making flakes that look alike. And as he puts it, we haven't violated any laws of physics. We just found a loophole.

Well, speaking of really productive science, you know that old saying about no two snowflakes looking alike. Apparently it's not exactly true. The New York Times reports that a scientist named Kenneth Liebrick at the California Institute of Technology. He grows twins snowflakes in a lab and according to the article, it's not so much as snowflakes original structure, but it's the path that it takes through the atmosphere. You know, all the twists and turns and volatility, and that's what makes it unique. But in the lab it's a pretty different story. So Libric's process takes in between fifteen minutes to an hour or so to grow a pair of snowflakes, but he defends his idea of making flakes that look alike. And as he puts it, we haven't violated any laws of physics. We just found a loophole.

That's pretty cool and it's amazing that you can grow a pair of snowflakes in the lab, but it also kind of makes me feel less special.

That's pretty cool and it's amazing that you can grow a pair of snowflakes in the lab, but it also kind of makes me feel less special.

Oh well, man, I don't want you to feel less special.

Oh well, man, I don't want you to feel less special.

So you know what, I think the really useless fact that you gave about the sock over the shoe, that maybe that gives you the prize today.

So you know what, I think the really useless fact that you gave about the sock over the shoe, that maybe that gives you the prize today.

So I'm going to give you today's fact off trophy.

So I'm going to give you today's fact off trophy.

I like using sympathy as a way to get you to give me the trophy. Finally, so thank you.

I like using sympathy as a way to get you to give me the trophy. Finally, so thank you.

And thank you guys for listening. We'll be back with a full length episode tomorrow.

And thank you guys for listening. We'll be back with a full length episode tomorrow.

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