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GIVEAWAY! Brrrrrrr - It's COLD out there CONTEST

As always this is very generous of you Scott @Captain Pre-Capsize
I’m in please.

I went to college in New Hampshire. During the winter, the days were routinely below 0F. My roommate and I got fed up with the cold temperatures so we decided we wouldn’t report the weather to each other as cold or anything like it. We took to calling the weather every day “brisk” “invigorating” or some other such word, but we always tacked on a number. The number was the number of breaths it took for our nostril hairs to freeze and it was always less than 10. The coldest day we had was -55F, that was a “Brisk-1!”
Ahhhh... I grew up in NH, north of Mount Washington.
Brisk is definitely the lingo we like to use.
Thanks for the reminder (I live out west now).
 
Years ago. When I first started driving trucks and before the age of cell- phones. It was about two weeks before Christmas and I had delivered a load in central Iowa. Parked for the night by Des Moines and had a bottle of Pepsi freeze completely solid in the sleeper with me ,truck running and heat on. The next day the fuel gelled up , " winter blend super diesel " , and left me sitting on the side of the highway. Wind-chill was 85 below zero. Doesn't take long for the heat to disappear. After an hour or so a state plow truck stopped and he was able to contact the county sheriff's office. After a while a deputy came and gave me a ride to a restaurant . It was a six hour wait for a tow, then another seven hour wait at the garage before the truck was running again. The bright side of the night was that the wife of the mechanic made sandwiches for the us . There were two other drivers ,one who had his two kids with him, stuck there also.
 
Not in since I already have one, but here's my story. Back in 1987 I was in my first year of grad school in Physics. I lived in a basement "apartment" on the north end of town. Montana had just been hit with an exceptionally cold storm system and the ambient temperature was -40 degrees before the wind. It was so cold the cement walls of the apartment had frost on them.

Classes were not suspended yet at the university and I had to go in to teach a couple laboratory sessions. That's when I found out the headbolt heater in my pickup didn't work! So, I had to walk maybe a couple miles (actually uphill) to campus. I looked like Bob & Doug MacKenzie but at least I didn't get frostbite! The swill we had for coffee really tasted good then! After that day, a friend, his roommate and myself crammed into his late sixties VW bug (which had no problem with the cold!) for the commute to and from campus the rest of the week. Definitely an interesting ride. Not only because of the close quarters, but because it was so cold the tires were so stiff they had flat spots on them from sitting overnight. The continual THUMP THUMP THUMP as we rode along was jarring!
 
Although I grew up in Florida, my parents were from Maine and we lived in Maine for about 3 years. I remember when I was in second grade standing in our driveway behind the snowbank that had been made by the snowplow, waiting for the school bus. Even though I had my mittens, coat, and rubber boots I was still shivering as I glanced out into the road from time to time to see if the school bus was coming yet. I was glad to finally get on the bus where it was much warmer. This would have been around 1959-60. Ahhh memories.
 
I'm in. I've been a Wisconsin firefighter for over 20 years and I've been to numerous house fires and car accidents in some absolutely god awful weather. I'll share a couple of experiences.

One of the worst apartment fires in my area happened in the winter when I had only 3 months on the job. It was my first real fire. Temps were in the low teens Fahrenheit and I remember that despite the cold, the adrenaline got me moving. I can remember telling a guy hanging out of a second story window not to jump while a crew worked to get a ladder to him, helping a woman out of one of the complex's smoke filled entryways, later going to the roof to do a trench cut to try to stop the fire's progress, and even later sitting in a city bus with my lieutenant to warm up along with some of the residents who had basically lost everything. It was only after I left the bus that the cold really started to affect me and that's when my lieutenant told me that warming up after being in the cold for so long makes returning to the cold to keep working challenging but you push through because you have to and that bringing extra gear to swap out makes it tenable - gloves, t-shirt, hood, etc.

Several years later we had a house fire in a small ranch style home, just a simple room and contents fire that was extinguished quickly but smoked the house up pretty good. I remember this fire well because although it was a clear and sunny morning, the temp was in the -20s not counting the wind chill and we had quite the chore trying to fold and pile drained but frozen hoses onto the floor of the cab of the fire engine. Fortunately it was just 2 attack lines which are smaller diameter than the hose we would have attached to a hydrant. Back at the station we straightened them out as best we could and once they had started to thaw we were able to clean them and then put them in our hose dryer.

When I woke up this morning at work and saw that it was -2 F, I was grateful we didn't have a fire last night.
 

KeenDogg

Slays On Fleek - For Rizz
All righty! Call it a moment of weakness or The Captain just wanting to be Santa Claus. He has decided to have a separate drawing for any and all Canadians that post here. We're lookin' at you, @brucered, @Yuritau, @Ron R, @esky15. Any other Canadians are welcome to jump in as well.

If ANYbody knows cold that would be a Canadian, eh??

So there will be three winners that are CONUS and one winner selected from Canadian entries. I am counting on having the next month of bliss. Then when the First Mate does the books at the end of the month she will say, "HEY! How come our shipping expense is out of whack again???" :biggrin1:


Great googly moogly!!! And I thought I knew how to do a contest!!!!

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As I type this it is 11 degrees outside with winds of 28 mph. No better time for a contest about the cold and no better time for you to have three chances to win something to keep things warm...

Here is how you enter:

Tell us about a time you were cold - what was it like?

The three winners will be selected by random.org after this runs a few days. Each one of the winners will get to choose one of our popular shaving scuttles to keep their lather warm. This is CONUS only please. Here are some pics from our store of the four different colors. More info about each one can be found right here.

Have fun with the stories!


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It was so cold in NYC last night, that a few stranded Covid particles begged me for a ride home. True story. They promised to be mild. They kept their word.
 
I'm in. I've been a Wisconsin firefighter for over 20 years and I've been to numerous house fires and car accidents in some absolutely god awful weather. I'll share a couple of experiences.

One of the worst apartment fires in my area happened in the winter when I had only 3 months on the job. It was my first real fire. Temps were in the low teens Fahrenheit and I remember that despite the cold, the adrenaline got me moving. I can remember telling a guy hanging out of a second story window not to jump while a crew worked to get a ladder to him, helping a woman out of one of the complex's smoke filled entryways, later going to the roof to do a trench cut to try to stop the fire's progress, and even later sitting in a city bus with my lieutenant to warm up along with some of the residents who had basically lost everything. It was only after I left the bus that the cold really started to affect me and that's when my lieutenant told me that warming up after being in the cold for so long makes returning to the cold to keep working challenging but you push through because you have to and that bringing extra gear to swap out makes it tenable - gloves, t-shirt, hood, etc.

Several years later we had a house fire in a small ranch style home, just a simple room and contents fire that was extinguished quickly but smoked the house up pretty good. I remember this fire well because although it was a clear and sunny morning, the temp was in the -20s not counting the wind chill and we had quite the chore trying to fold and pile drained but frozen hoses onto the floor of the cab of the fire engine. Fortunately it was just 2 attack lines which are smaller diameter than the hose we would have attached to a hydrant. Back at the station we straightened them out as best we could and once they had started to thaw we were able to clean them and then put them in our hose dryer.

When I woke up this morning at work and saw that it was -2 F, I was grateful we didn't have a fire last night.

Those winter calls are the worst, especially during overhaul when the warm stuff is put out and everything is drenched and icy. Though that ice does help as a decent wind break…
 
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It is time for random.org to select our FOUR lucky winners.

But first, a cold story from The Captain. As an assistant Scoutmaster I accompanied our troop on a high adventure trip - dog sledding along the Canadian border. There were no tents. Instead, each of us slept in what they called a "sleeping system." It was a sleeping bag for extreme temperatures and a thick pad underneath that was affixed to the bag. You froze big-time for five minutes getting in and for five minutes getting out. Otherwise, it was very comfortable.

There was a drawstring that you cinched down tightly as you lay on your back and the escaping body heat kept your face warm. Every night we pitched camp on a frozen lake. The first night I realized with only my eyes and chin exposed to the air that I was very glad I had not had a lot of beans for dinner. :eek2:

There were two guides who accompanied us. One morning we got up and one of the guides reported that the air temperature was -17 F. With my mouth hanging open he said, "Oh, but that is in town - it is always colder out here." Before departing they warned us there was one danger: Don't ever let yourself sweat. If you do, that is when you learn what real cold is. And then hypothermia can be an issue. Wonderful. And that was not on your website...

You see, for the most part you are walking briskly behind the sled, not riding. And when you are doing that you need to strip down to prevent sweating. So in air temps that were always below zero degrees Fahrenheit everyone was moving along with parkas open and vests partially unzipped. The hats and gloves stayed on!

Early one morning as everyone was getting up I took a look at one boy and told him not to move. I grabbed my camera and snapped a head shot of him. He had FROST on his eyebrows. The body heat coming out of the cinched down portion around his eyes and mouth was enough to keep his face warm but the moisture and cold were such that his black eyebrows were white!

On to the drawing!

Random.org has selected our three winners who are CONUS. They are:

@timetofly
@tthoms
@DBshaves

The contest changed half way through and all Canadians were entered into a drawing and one winner was selected by random.org.

That winner is:

@Ron R

If you are a winner here is what you do:

1. PM me here or email me at: [email protected]
2. Send me your mailing address.
3. Tell me which scuttle you would like.

Congratulations to our winners and a big thank you for the stories that have been shared. What a blast to read through them. On behalf of Captain's Choice we do thank each of you for your participation and for supporting our small business. For that we are most grateful.

~ The Captain
 
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It is time for random.org to select our FOUR lucky winners.

But first, a cold story from The Captain. As an assistant Scoutmaster I accompanied our troop on a high adventure trip - dog sledding along the Canadian border. There were no tents. Instead, each of us slept in what they called a "sleeping system." It was a sleeping bag for extreme temperatures and a thick pad underneath that was affixed to the bag. You froze big-time for five minutes getting in and for five minutes getting out. Otherwise, it was very comfortable.

There was a drawstring that you cinched down tightly as you lay on your back and the escaping body heat kept your face warm. Every night we pitched camp on a frozen lake. The first night I realized with only my eyes and chin exposed to the air that I was very glad I had not had a lot of beans for dinner. :eek2:

There were two guides who accompanied us. One morning we got up and one of the guides reported that the air temperature was -17 F. With my mouth hanging open he said, "Oh, but that is in town - it is always colder out here." Before departing they warned us there was one danger: Don't ever let yourself sweat. If you do, that is when you learn what real cold is. And then hypothermia can be an issue. Wonderful. And that was not on your website...

You see, for the most part you are walking briskly behind the sled, not riding. And when you are doing that you need to strip down to prevent sweating. So in air temps that were always below zero degrees Fahrenheit everyone was moving along with parkas open and vests partially unzipped. The hats and gloves stayed on!

Early one morning as everyone was getting up I took a look at one boy and told him not to move. I grabbed my camera and snapped a head shot of him. He had FROST on his eyebrows. The body heat coming out of the cinched down portion around his eyes and mouth was enough to keep his face warm but the moisture and cold were such that his black eyebrows were white!

On to the drawing!

Random.org has selected our three winners who are CONUS. They are:

@timetofly
@tthoms
@DBshaves

The contest changed half way through and all Canadians were entered into a drawing and one winner was selected by random.org.

That winner is:

@Ron R

If you are a winner here is what you do:

1. PM me here or email me at: [email protected]
2. Send me your mailing address.

Congratulations to our winners and a big thank you for the stories that have been shared. What a blast to read through them. On behalf of Captain's Choice we do thank each of you for your participation and for supporting our small business. For that we are most grateful.

~ The Captain
Thank you Captain! Thank you to all that contributed! I totally agree with Captain, they were very entertaining stories.
What a great community we are in.
 
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