Good Questions: Blowing On Hot Food, Weather Watcher Jingle & Christmas Cars
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's Friday and Heather Brown is answering your Good Questions. This week: blowing on hot food, the Weather Watcher jingle and cars as Christmas gifts.
Janine from Chaska: Does blowing on hot food or drink really cool it down?
It does, but it works most efficiently if the food or drink is steaming hot, according to James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota and author of "The Physics of Superheroes."
It's not the coolness of our warm breath that's cooling the drink, but rather our breath pushing away the hottest molecules in the drink. When you blow on a steaming drink, you're pushing away the molecules with the most energy so they don't come back. That reduces the overall temperature of the beverage.
Listen closely to the beginning of any seven-day WCCO forecast and you'll hear a whistle. Paul from Lakeville wants to know: What is that?
It's the WCCO Weather Watcher jingle. We use it to alert people to look at the screen because the seven-day forecast is what people look for the most.
Russ from Stillwater asks: Do people really give cars as Christmas gifts?
"Absolutely, all the time, every year," says Mike Dalton, general sales manager for Lexus of Wayzata.
He says the plans can sometimes be elaborate to keep the surprise – special emails or phone numbers the salespeople can't call. His dealership loans out the bows and will set up the cars and bows in driveways or garages, often on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
The Lexus December to Remember campaign started in 1989, turning what used to be a slow time into the busiest month for car sales.
"It's picked up steam ever since," says Dalton. "Every year, it gets bigger and bigger."