Cornell University
Issue Date: 10-Jan-2000
Abstract: In an attempt to verify the age-old claim that your tongue will freeze to a metal pole and become stuck if you decide to lick it in the midst of winter, we have modeled tongue contact with a cold metal surface using finite-element analysis techniques. After varying ambient temperatures, we have concluded that accidental tongue-freezing is not a myth, and below -5 deg. C the tongue will freeze before it can be removed. An accompanying sensitivity analysis showed that variations in contact area, metal properties, and the convection coefficients do not significantly change this conclusion. Our simulation has opened the possibility for further study of the accidental freezing process, including the modeling of methods to remove the tongue once it is stuck.
3 comments:
I have had my tongue caught on frozen metal also, but as I recall, it melted enough to pull off before I had to rip away part of my tongue. Unless that was just something I imagined so vividly that it became a memory ...
I can't believe anyone could've thought that was a myth - jeez, they lead sheltered lives nowadays. That hurts a LOT and I can feel it because I'm thinking about it.
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LALALALA!!!
Interesting that this seems to be a shared experience.
There is probably a trans-Atlantic translation problem here, so let me say that a lollipop in the UK is a frozen piece of flavoured ice on a stick. As a child I remember getting my tongue stuck to one and having it take about five minutes before I was able to remove it. Although I remember it hurting a bit, I don't think I took any layers off, thank goodness.
As an adult however, I did once manage to superglue my tongue to a piece of wood.
Don't ask how I came to do that.
Selador
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