A week and a half ago, Wisconsin saw the coldest temperatures in a decade. For several days we never made it above zero (Fahrenheit) or out of the low single digits and had double-digit below-zero temperatures at night. We’ve warmed up a bit since then, but the extreme cold weather brought some interesting results.
We’re able to use our garage as sort of an extended refrigerator in the late fall, winter, and early spring months. It usually stays above freezing and keeps things like soda, beer, and bottled water icy cold without taking up space in the fridge in the kitchen. Last week the garage didn’t stay above freezing and so we had some predictable results with a few aluminum cans when frozen.
We knew there was an issue when the 24-pack container for the Diet Coke was bulging nearly two times the size of the Coke cans. A couple of them had ruptured through the sides of the can and we had a semi-frozen mess.
But we also had some interesting results with one of the cans – it didn’t rupture at a weak point of the aluminum on the side or break the pop-top seal like the others. This one pushed off the entire lid of the can as the Diet Coke froze.
Just a bit of fun showing the kids what happens when (carbonated) liquid turns to ice in a sealed container. We also briefly discussed this on Episode 36 of The GeekDads.
Now this weekend we’re back into the colder temps – maybe I should go get the Diet Coke out of the garage…
