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(Catherine Lamy, Buzz illustrator)

The first snowfall of the year just blanketed the campus with snow this past week and there are all sorts of winter activities to enjoy. If you can find a hill, sledding is always a fun option, but nothing is better then having a snowball fight with friends (I mean what is better then throwing snow at your friends?) For a more tranquil activity building a snowman is always fun.

If you want your newly built Frosty to stay erect for as long as possible should you dress him in your warmest winter clothing or will that cause it to melt faster? One might think that since our clothes keep us warm it would warm up the snow and cause it to melt faster. However, that would be incorrect. According to physics Professor Mats Selen clothes act as an insulator and “if you put clothes on a snowman it just makes it harder for the heat to flow from the air to the snowman, so the snowman melts slower.” In the snowman’s case the clothes act as an insulator, only in reverse. So if you want Frosty to stick around for a few extra days to make sure to bundle him up in your heaviest winter sweater.