As the weather chills, it's time for some fun with cold temperatures. Most of us already know how tough rubber can be, but rubber after it's come into contact with liquid nitrogen is a different story.
I'm not certain Youtuber WowShow's science experiment testing a rubber band ball after dipping it in liquid nitrogen passes any kind of scientific muster, but it does show us a rubber band's motion at a totally different speed.
Don't try this one at home. After a gloved hand douses a rubber band ball in liquid N, they turn it out onto a wood table. Unsurprisingly, the ball has lost almost all of its bounce after being frozen (though the "thud" it makes is mostly satisfying).
The magic begins when the hammer comes out. A few smacks later, bands start to snap free, made more brittle by the liquid nitrogen. But instead of popping clear with instant kinetic force, they begin to unwind and unravel slowly from the ball as a whole. As it comes apart, the rubber bands continue to twist, looking magically alive and not at all happy about the situation.
The rest of the video brings more of the bands to life, and ruins two perfectly good knives in the process. It's not clear what WowShow was testing, but it's entertaining to watch.
Kyle Brown is a reporter for Rubber & Plastics News who watched a lot of Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye while growing up. Follow him on Twitter at @kbrownRPN.