5 Interesting Facts About Snowmen

One of the most celebrated icons of winter is the snowman. After all, people have been creating snowmen since long ago, and will not be stopping anytime soon. With another winter upon us, why not take some time to learn a bit more about everyone's favorite piece of "art" ? Here are 5 interesting facts we dug up on the snowman:

1. A Close-to-Perfect Snowman Construction Plan was Published in the Journal Industrial Engineer

Several years ago, a group of engineering technology students and faculty at Bluefield State College located in West Virginia (where snow falls aplenty)  put together a plan to design a "perfect" snowman. The idea behind the project was to show how even simple child's play could be taken and be applied to simple engineering principles. According to the paper, the most important factor in building this perfect snowman is, shocker, finding the right snow. The snow ideally should be around -1 degrees Celsius (about 30 degrees Fahrenheit) so that it has enough strength to stick together but isn't completely powdery and impossible to form. The plan then goes into precise detail and measurements on how to go about constructing this "perfect" snowman.

2. The World's Tallest Snowman (Snow-woman) was Built in Maine, USA, and Used Trees for its Arms.

In 2008, the people of Bethel, Maine, made a colossal effort to top their previous record holding snowman, "Angus", and built "Olympia" as a result. At over 122 feet tall, she still holds the world record today for the tallest snowman in the world. Made with over 13,000,000 pounds of snow, she required materials such as tires, full size trees, and wreaths for her face and buttons. Talk about a snow giant. On the other hand...

3. The World's Smallest Snowman was just 0.01mm Tall

In 2009 , the scientists at the National Physical Laboratory in West London used the tools and knowledge at their disposal to create the tiniest snowman known to mankind. Their creation stood at only 0.01mm tall, and used technology that was created for nano-particle manipulation.

4. Japan holds the World Record for the Most Snowmen Built in One Hour.

That's right; on the Zuriyama Observation Field located in Akabira, Hokkaido, Japan, 2,036 snowmen were constructed by hand in only one hour. A total of 1,406 people took part in building the snowmen, showing the never-ending efficiency of team work.

5. Locals in Zürich, Switzerland, Explode a Snowman to Predict the Arrival of Spring.

This tradition involves stuffing an 11-foot tall snowman with straw, cotton, and dynamite, and seeing how long it takes for the snowman's head to explode (some people even place bets). According to the legend, the sooner the explosion, the quicker spring will arrive. It's kind of like Groundhog Day, with just much more... excitement.

As you can see, snowmen have always been a part of the winter festivities all over the world, and will continue to be. What do you think of our list? Share your own snowman stories or facts in the comments below!