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Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

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Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#71

Post by chrisseaton »

m463 wrote: post #57
74d-fe6-2c6 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but wool is so itchy and scratchy, isn't it?

Wool socks are amazing. Warm and more importantly dry. In a similar way down comforters are wonderful (get the right weight).

Don't you find wool not stretching is a real problem? I struggle to get well-fitting wool socks that I can also get around my ankle, as they have no stretch.

Did you know people used to use sock suspenders to keep their saggy wool socks up before we started to use synthetic fibres for socks?

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#72

Post by Sharlin »

Retric wrote: post #2

This doesn’t explain why the interstitial fluids and cells themselves in a birds feet avoid freezing. Presumably, either their feet can simply be maintained at slightly above freezing or they use some form of antifreeze. Does anyone know?

Their feet are kept slightly above freezing by the very mechanism explained by the article. It's a heat exchanger, basically. Warm blood from the heart is used to keep cold blood in the extremities from freezing, and this "double loop" system is much more efficient than pushing warm blood directly into the feet where thermal losses would be much greater.

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#73

Post by Sharlin »

safog wrote: post #32

I feel like I’ve read articles about birds feet not getting cold from four different sources (Reddit, YT, Twitter and now HN) in the past week. Why is everyone suddenly so interested in birds?

Because of… how the social media, and your social bubble, fundamentally works? An article that becomes popular on one site naturally spreads to other sites by people sharing it. Also, the Baader–Meinhof effect, which primes you to notice things you've learned about recently.

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#74

Post by grosswait »

chrisseaton wrote: post #71
m463 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wool socks are amazing. Warm and more importantly dry. In a similar way down comforters are wonderful (get the right weight).

Don't you find wool not stretching is a real problem? I struggle to get well-fitting wool socks that I can also get around my ankle, as they have no stretch. Did you know people used to use sock suspenders to keep their saggy wool socks up before we started to use synthetic fibres for socks?

Try bombas wool. Great everyday wool sock

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#75

Post by forgotmypw17 »

prox wrote: post #68
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have a proper opinion on Wim Hof and his methods. On one side, he seems a nice, genuine person. On the other, I've read things that didn't necessarily add credibility to his methods. Plus, his appearance on Gwyneth Paltrow's show (considered by many non scientific) was a bit of a downer for me.

If you see him speak in person, like in a documentary, he always seem high on adrenaline. Don’t know whether thats a good or bad thing.

What if it is neither good nor bad?

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#76

Post by __s »

rapnie wrote: post #39
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #25

This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.

I have this with cycling. In the winter I never wear gloves (hate to carry these around), and when going about in the first cold days your fingers quickly go numb. By wriggling them and with body heat generated after a while they become warm, and you can even place them comfortable on the iron parts of the steering wheel. After some days in cold weather like this they don't go cold at all anymore.

You should specify which Winter you're experiencing. I'm assuming you aren't in sub zero temperature

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#77

Post by Shivetya »

brnt wrote: post #47
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #25

This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.

I used to never be cold. Could sit in open below 0C air after a shower without cooling down. I never really wore thick sweaters, where some would insist in them. Then I moved to a Mediterranean climate. When I go back now, I find I've become a wuss. Can't handle cold at all anymore.

I always love that in the spring and fall with the warm days I enjoy a nice 60F/16C evening and leave the windows open but then comes winter and those numbers just feel cold.

the human body adjusts but we don't notice is as much when we let the weather change around us instead of moving to where the weather has already changed

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#79

Post by chronogram »

74d-fe6-2c6 wrote: post #52
unixhero wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wool my friends. It is the only way.

but wool is so itchy and scratchy, isn't it?

Always use cotton as a first layer, because you can just put it in the laundry. Cleaning my woollen coat is more difficult than changing a cotton shirt underneath it.

Also: most “wool” is polyester because it’s like 10 times cheaper.

Re: Why Birds Don’t Get Cold Feet

#80

Post by forgotmypw17 »

brnt wrote: post #47
forgotmypw17 wrote: post #25

This is anecdata. I am also not a bird. Inspired by Wim Hof, I've started doing short barefoot snow walks. Within days, even between multiple walks on the same day, my feet became more cold-tolerant. They now recover from the cold faster, stay warm in the snow longer, and when I'm indoors, my feet are no longer cold without socks. My feet used to be cold to the touch and feel cold subjectively without socks.

I used to never be cold. Could sit in open below 0C air after a shower without cooling down. I never really wore thick sweaters, where some would insist in them. Then I moved to a Mediterranean climate. When I go back now, I find I've become a wuss. Can't handle cold at all anymore.

I don't often choose what I wear, though I'd choose scratchy wool over most materials. I find that layering is a great strategy, and usually wear 3-5 layers in most weather conditions.
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