Do you remember the classic 1983 movie A Christmas Story, in which nine-year-old Ralph “Ralphie” Parker and his loyal friend Flick are faced with a “triple-dog-dare,” and poor Flick ends up sticking his tongue to a frozen flagpole until the fire department comes to the rescue?
What’s the scientific explanation for this classic frozen faux pas? It’s simple. Metal is a very good conductor of cold, and on a frigid winter’s day, it’s likely that most metal objects outside – including fences, mailboxes, and utility poles – are cold enough to reach temperatures that are significantly below freezing. If you’re enough of a blockhead to actually accept this triple-dog-dare, here’s what will happen. When you put your moist tongue against the frozen metal surface, the moisture on your tongue rapidly freezes and sticks to the metal.
If the quaint stupidity of this practice really appeals to you, buy the action figure. Yes, that’s right! There’s a Flick figure that comes with a “frozen” flagpole that magnetically attracts Flick’s outstretched tongue. That way you can get all of the pleasure, with none of the pain.
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"Can your tongue get stuck on a frozen pole?" was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 11:08 am.