We woke up yesterday to -38 degrees F. here in central Minnesota. The schools were closed, the cars and buses wouldn't start and it was a federal holiday besides. What to do? Some sub-arctic magic was called for.

Here's the effect: Go outdoors anywhere it's 30 degrees below zero or more. Hand a spectator a steaming hot cup of water, coffee or tea and tell him that you want him to throw it on you from 20 feet away. Advise the audience that this could be extremely dangerous: you could be scalded badly by the hot liquid or, worse yet, soaking wet at 38 degrees below zero which could be fatal.

Walk 20 feet away and yell: "Soak me!" You can shout a magic word here if you like. What happens to the liquid is truly amaz......as well. Needless to say, not a drop reaches you!

In St. Paul it was only a couple below zero. Can't try it in that weather, can I?

No, it's got to be really "sub-arctic" temperatures or you'll get wet. I explain the effect more thoroughly on my blog (link below.)

That's something I would really like to see, but since I live in Georgia it won't be something I will ever get to try. How about filming this the next time the weather drops down again in you area and posting it so everyone here can see it in action.

Actually, we don't enjoy below-zero temps here either. Of course, this effect isn't nearly as exciting as my Lick-The-Flagpole Death Escape!