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The polar vortex might be lifting, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of cold days ahead to enjoy these fun tricks and trivia that only work or occur when the temperature dips way below zero.

LiveScience found a few ways to make those long days when school’s called off due to cold a little more bearable, and throw a science lesson or two in there for good measure.

Soda slushy anyone?

Alcohol and soda will transform to a slushy almost magically in the extreme cold.

The trick is simple: Just take a soda or an alcoholic beverage out in the snow in a sealed bottle and let it cool for a few hours, then open it up and watch the slush form.

Normally, pure water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). But the added ingredients in soda or alcohol lower the freezing point, making the beverage liquid at supercool temperatures. Opening the soda bottle lowers the pressure inside and releases tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide that serve as the seeds for tiny ice crystals, forming a frosty and delicious slush. The technique also works with alcohol or mixed drinks, because opening the bottle is still usually enough to seed the tiny ice crystal formation…

Frozen bubbles

Bubbles can make any scene seem like a fairy tale, but they pop in the blink of an eye. That’s not an issue when temperatures dip below about 9 to 12 F (about minus 11 C), and you can make the bubbles freeze. The trick is to blow them up in the air so that they have time to freeze before hitting the ground or another surface. The bubbles will form crystalline patterns and some might break, looking a bit like the shell of a cracked egg.

Full story at LiveScience.

Baby, it’s cold outside.

Photo credit: Fotolia