Titanium utensils in cold weather...

[hikingfish]

Very simple, and possibly stupid, question:

If one bought a titanium spork and uses it when it's -30C outside...will my tongue stick to it?

Fish

 

[dr_wu002]

I hope not. Stick it in your pocket to warm it up before you use it.

-Dr. Wu

 

[nartreb]

Not likely. You'd probably notice your food sticking to it first, and think twice.

Seriously, if you're using it to pick up food that's above freezing, it'll be a lot closer to the temperature of the food than the temperature of the air. (Spoon has a pretty low mass - doesn't take much heat to change its temperature.) Even if your tongue did freeze to it, your body heat should suffice to unstick you pretty quick. (That doesn't work with flagpoles because they're big - it takes more heat to warm up the flagpole than the tip of your tongue can muster, since steel is a good thermal conductor, meaning you basically have to heat the whole thing before the temperature in any one spot rises much. Meanwhile the large mass of the flagpole is spread over a huge surface area which cools itself very efficiently...)

 

[David Metsky]

I can, however, tell you that your tongue will stick to an ice axe for a fairly lengthy period of time.

But any spoon will warm up quickly when in contact with your mouth. Titanium may be slightly different then steel but not much. I've been using Lexan utensils.

 

[Jay H]

I TRIPLE Dog Dare you to try!!!!!



Jay

 

[dr_wu002]

I can, however, tell you that your tongue will stick to an ice axe for a fairly lengthy period of time.

Not if your ice axe is made of lexan...

-Dr. Wu

 

[skiguy]

I can, however, tell you that your tongue will stick to an ice axe for a fairly lengthy period of time.

This must be an interesting story

 

[cbcbd]

I haven't had any problems with my titanium spork in the winter... then again, I usually have something warm on the spork before putting it to my tongue. I also think that since titanium is not as good a heat conductor as other materials it doesn't usually "feel" as cold as my ice axe.

I TRIPLE Dog Dare you to try!!!!!



Jay

Lol, a classic.

 

[hikingfish]

Folks,...I've decided to put it to the test. The titanium spork is in the freezer as we speak. I'll let you all know how it went later today.

Oh, and if I don't post again, call the paramedics for me, will ya?

Fish

 

[David Metsky]

This must be an interesting story

I wasn't the stuckee.

 

[Mark Driscoll]

David, please tell us more!

 

[DougPaul]

Folks,...I've decided to put it to the test. The titanium spork is in the freezer as we speak. I'll let you all know how it went later today.

I hope you also put an ice axe in the freezer as a control...

BTW, if you take the metal object out of the freezer into a warm room and then lick it, the test will be biased because the room will warm the object, unlike the real situation where the environment will tend to keep the object cold. So unless you have a walk-in freezer...

Doug

 

[TMax]

David, please tell us more!

Please do! Curiosity is killing this cat.

 

[hikingfish]

I hope you also put an ice axe in the freezer as a control...

BTW, if you take the metal object out of the freezer into a warm room and then lick it, the test will be biased because the room will warm the object, unlike the real situation where the environment will tend to keep the object cold. So unless you have a walk-in freezer...

Doug

Well, it was a biased test, but I did survive and I didn't get stuck to my spork

Fish

 

[DougPaul]

Well, it was a biased test, but I did survive and I didn't get stuck to my spork

What about the ice axe?

Doug

 

[kmorgan]

What about the ice axe?

Doug

You'll put your eye out....

 

[David Metsky]

A friend was on a Washington hike in winter; at the summit the group stopped for lunch in the lee of the summit buildings. Ed was a big fan of peanut butter and had a jar of it with him that had solidified. He couldn't get it out of the jar with his spoon and used the pick of his axe to get some out, then without thinking, stuck the end into his mouth.

"Ed?"

"Mrmrrrrph."

"Are you OK?"

"Mlle me mine"

It thawed enough to remove his tongue without damage in about 30 seconds but it was amusing (and a little scary) at the time.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Folks,...I've decided to put it to the test. The titanium spork is in the freezer as we speak. ...

Freezers aren't cold enough.

I don't know about sporks, but I CAN tell you that if you eat a popsicle at -30, your tongue, upper and lower lip will stick to it.... and it hurts too! And it's worse if you're riding a bicycle at the time.

 

[jbreen]

Originally posted by Pete_Hickey
I don't know about sporks, but I CAN tell you that if you eat a popsicle at -30, your tongue, upper and lower lip will stick to it....

If you have 30 seconds, you could pop it out with an ice axe.

 

[Woody]

I usually put my titanium spork in my hot food first so no problems with it sticking to my mouth.

I was looking at Pete Hickeys Avatar: The comment says "Why I'm getting slow" Pete you must be walking on your hands by the looks of that x-ray of your bionic knees, because in that image your feet are up in the air!