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Look at This Bizarre Ice Formation

(Photo: Nick Mattlock)

They look like ice shelves, but that's not what's happening in this photo. A wire fence stretches along the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland, UK. The wind blew straight at the fence from the right. Ice particles gradually built up along the wire. A spokesman for the Met Office, which is the UK's weather bureau, explained to the BBC:

There has to be a strong wind, temperatures have to be between plus one Celsius and minus one Celsius and there has to be plenty of moisture. This can either be from water vapour in the air, from snowfall or from freezing rain. The wind blows the moisture over the object, in this case the fence, and it freezes, building up a thick layer of ice on the windward side. This means that the wind was actually blowing from the right to the left of the photo.

-via Twisted Sifter


Comments (4)

Newest 4
Newest 4 Comments

"Hard rime is a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects... This fog freezes to the windward (wind-facing) side of tree branches, buildings, or any other solid objects, usually with high wind velocities and air temperatures between −2 and −8 °C (28.4 and 17.6 °F)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_rime
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This is a ches' pont nimbler used in pastry and cake decorating. Oddly enough its use was banned in the Duchy of Moldavia because of a dream the Baroness had and related to her 2nd hairdresser, who fortold the Dukes demise at the hands of a Pastrey Cheof' armed with this instrument.

Oddly enough he was run over by a tank during military exercises, the corparal-chef who was in comand of the tank was named:....Chespont.
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Hmm, handling something, but no idea what.....
Would've said for cutting branches if the edges weren't dull...... uhm.. so I'll guess....

Tool for handling hot metal pipes? :P
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and elastrator...used to castrate horses...at least that's what the tool looked like on that tv show "dirty jobs" a while back...it was soo gross!
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A tool for handling molten metal... should have a cup that holds the metal, then that clamps around the cup and you can pour it into a mold (or something).

Lew
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I think it is a set of metalsmithing tongs. We use something similar to transfer and quench our beakers during the casting process.

Lew may also be correct, they could be used to hold the crucible as well.

Can't wait to find out if I'm right!
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Maybe it's for handling logs in a fire place?
It just looks like tongs you can use for anything you need tongs for: hold something hot, remove a big bullet, deliver a baby, cut of a ball or two, stripping some leaves, pour some acid, pick your nose or a pocket. Great invention, tongs.
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I do believe that it's an old tool primarily used on the Irish holiday of St. Patrick's Day. When a person forgets or refuses to wear green, this tool is used for an extra-painful pinch.
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