Howto Build the Perfect Snowman (According to Science)
Merry & Bright
A BRIEF HISTORY OF STRING LIGHTS
If you’re lucky enough to get a good snow day this year, building a snowman is a
No matter which holidays you celebrate this season, you likely decorate your home, trees, and other displays with string lights. These strands of lights have come a long way since their invention in the 19th century. In 1880, after Thomas Edison developed an incandescent lightbulb that was easier to widely manufacture, he wanted to get it to the masses. As the holiday season of 1880 approached, Edison strung together a series of bulbs and draped them around his lab in Menlo Park, New Jersey, so people on passing trains could admire this new, vibrant wonder. The idea was slow to take off. Two years later, Edward Hibberd Johnson, a close associate of Edison, took the idea further. In his New York City home, Johnson decorated a Christmas tree with electric lights, making it the first electrically lit tree in history. Insurance companies were a major force behind the electric light craze. At the beginning of the 20th century, many families were still decorating their trees and homes with candles. Insurance companies decided that if your home caught fire and an open flame was the culprit, you were not covered and would not receive compensation. Most people at the time decorated with garlands and ornaments, and only the wealthy made the transition to electric string lights. According to History Matters and Appalachian State University, a string of Edison miniature lamps cost $12 USD in 1900. That’s the equivalent of about $300 USD today. It was also in 1900 that the first advertisement for the string lights went to print. The ad was published in Scientific American Magazine and suggested that you rent a string of lights rather than buy them. That way, more people could afford the lights and wouldn’t have to worry about storage after the holiday season. Over the decades, more people bought (and rented) electric tree lights. By 1925, there were 15 companies in the electric tree light business. They even got together to form the NOMA Electric Corporation, which may have helped these companies survive the Great Depression and World War II. Since then, the lights we use to decorate our trees and homes have taken many shapes and sizes. Today, energy-efficient LED lights are among the most common varieties.
great way to spend it. That said, building a snowman isn’t all fun and games. It’s hard work, and you want to make sure the end result is worth the sore legs and soggy pants. Here are some science-backed strategies for building the perfect snowman.
Choose the Right Snow Snow is your artistic medium, so make sure you have the right material for your
project. Yes, there is a wrong kind of snow to use when building a snowman. You want the snow to be moist enough that it packs well but not so slushy that it collapses under pressure. The ideal snow for building your masterpiece is freshly fallen snow when the temperature is around 32 degrees F. If the snow isn’t quite right, you can moisten it a little by spraying water on it. Location Is Everything Before you start stacking your snowman, pick the right location for it to hang out. Asphalt will heat up faster, so stick Frosty on a grassy lawn. If you can find a place that will be in the shade when the sun comes out, all the better. Pay Attention to Proportion As you roll the snowballs to form the head and body pieces, keep proportions in mind. This is important for the visual aesthetic of your snowman and overall stability. Mathematician Dr. James Hind from Nottingham Trent University developed a formula for building the perfect snowman. He recommended that a snowman be 64 inches tall, while the sections of the snowman should be 31 inches in diameter for the base, 20 inches in diameter for the middle, and 12 inches in diameter for the head. Once your snowman is built, science has just one rule for decorating: Have fun. Grab a scarf and a top hat, a carrot nose and radish eyes, or a fancy bow tie. Building the perfect snowman means building a snowman that will make you smile when you see it.
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