How to defrost this winter
Any Aggie knows that December brings two challenges for survival at USU: finals and freezing temperatures. However, since it is unlikely that professors will excuse finals for frozen limbs, Aggies are forced to come up with some creative ways to combat the cold.
Beyond the norms of heavy coats and ever-popular thermal underwear, some students have offered up their secret weapons to fight the frost.
Jessica Westwood, a recent graduate says she uses a trick that her grandpa taught her to keep her hands warm. “When you use a public restroom, use the hand driers to blow the hot air into your pockets,” Westwood said.
Nick McKee, a junior in mechanical engineering, however, prefers to linger near a large heating vent next to the HPER Building before he continues across campus. The downside, he says, is having to convince himself to leave the heat.
Whitney Olsen, a junior in English, has come up with a way to heat up her room when her roommate turns down the thermostat.
“I either run the shower or draw a hot bath, as hot as the water will go,” she said. “When the tub is full, I turn off the water and just let it sit. The heat and the moisture from the bath warm my room up.”
One anonymous Aggie swore by his trick of taking a hot shower and then covering himself in lotion. “It clogs your pores and keeps the heat in,” he said, though noting he faced plenty of mockery from his friends.
Doug Demill, a junior, offered a few different ideas to keep the chills away, including wrestling with roommates and eating hot peppers. The combination of the two could be dangerous, especially considering his other suggestion of burning textbooks or experimenting with sodium in the chemistry lab.
Luke Gallaway, a junior in computer science, plays it safe with a tried-and-true recipe for warmth. “On a Friday night, I will get a $5 hot-and-ready pizza and eat the whole thing by myself if my roommate is not around,” he said.
Laurann Menke, an undeclared freshman, said instead of hot chocolate to defrost, she prefers to mix warm milk, cinnamon and nutmeg to warm herself from the inside out.
“It’s healthier and a lot more filling,” Menke said.
For those cutting costs, keeping down the utility expenses is one motivation for finding alternatives to cranking up the heat during the winter months.
For students still striving to get warm, there are the old familiar methods of electric blankets, rice packs, ear-muffs, scarves and layering possibilities that keep out the subzero temperatures. But as students at USU have shown, there’s always a little room for creativity.
-cynthia