5 Winter Objects I Only Used After Moving to America
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- Not only are there vast differences between the climates of Britain and America, but the manner in which we adjust to them differs too. After moving to America's Midwest, I quickly found myself using certain winter-related objects for the first time in my life. Here are five such examples.
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The worst part is after you've finally finished clearing your driveway of snow, the snow plow comes along and buries the end of your driveway in a fresh 2 foot pile of snow.
Every time!
We had that happen but then the plow driver came back from doing the rest of the culdesac and swerved in and cleared our drive back out again! Sweet guy!
Don't forget to mention that if there was salt on the road or its a bit warm then its going to be a heap of heavy wet snow.
That's why it was so good that I used to live next to someone who had access to a Bobcat. Needless to say, they were VERY popular in that neighborhood.
Sadly, in most jurisdictions this in not considered sufficient reason to use your Uzi.
In the US we also call face shields "ski masks" as they are primarily used during skiing and classic robberies
Depends on what part of the country you're from, and what economic background you have.
Otodus Obliquus I use a hood, earmuffs and a big scarf instead. You know the big wide long scarves? Yeah. I feel like hats and scarves are more common than ski masks, at least for what the UK guy is talking about.
I guess you were BC as in: before covid.
@D. F. I like balaclava with a nice hot coacoa.
American here, most people I know would call it a balaclava, or baklava if being cheeky.
“They’ve not been cleaned since last winter, I’ll get around to that eventually, I promise.” You don’t need to pretend with us. The only cleaning winter boots get is kicking clean snow to ’wash’ off dirt.
Yep
Ice scrapers: "this is something you will use multiple times every winter"
Me, a Northern Minnesotan: it's pronounced daily
At least! Depending on the week it could be more than once a day!
new england too pretty much daily.
Do you occasionally throw a mini fit, like the scene in Fargo?
I feel so misled. Growing up I always assumed the UK had rough winters. Books like a Christmas Carol gave me that impression I think. It does sort of explain why the pilgrims struggled so much their 1st winter in America though...
Same here. I always had thought England would have a lot of snow, and I think its because of A Christmas Carol!
Great point
The Scottish Highlands are the place in the UK that has to deal with harsher winter weather, particularly chilly wind. England has moderate winters except a few years that they can experience some bad storms. It's akin to Washington DC or Atlanta grinding to a halt after a couple inches of snow. The problem with the English weather is that it tends to be overcast quite frequently, even during summers leading to a gloomy feel. I prefer a very cold day in the 20s with clear skies than a rainy day in the 40s-50s
Charles Dickens grew up during the little ice age during a period of over a decade of extremely harsh winter temperatures. Things aren't as bad now.
Not to mention you need multiple sets of winter gear. One for just winter, one for really cold winter, one for crazy amount of snow winter, and one for snowmageddon winter. Plus your fall jacket for when it's 50 on January 3rd.
I don't know if I want to laugh or cry at the truth of your comment. Only for my spot in the Northeast, Jan. 2 was the 50°F day. To be honest, while I love this kind of temperature, I hate that I never know what coat to wear for the day -- when I leave in the morning, it's cold-ass winter weather, but by lunch, a simple T-shirt feels about right.
Found money in the fall jacket pocket, yippy!
Here in the northwest today 1/3/20 was 50 with some cold wind.
Light sweater was good enough.
Jeandiata Smith HAHA!! You should see all the different “level/occasion” coats in my hall closet. Also, different boots for different conditions and occasions. 😂
I had snow in September and 47 degree weather in January 🤨
This is fantastic.
I tried explaining to my German wife how severe Midwestern Winters were.
She didn't believe me because she simply could not comprehend the severity.
I attempted to explain to her in October / November - when she stated that "American
winters are just like German winters" I laughed and said "ohhh no no no honey, this is fall, it gets much worse".
She looked at me with confusion and inquisitiveness.
We were living in Cleveland at the time.
I (tried to) explained to her how absolutely brutal and unforgiving the Winters were before we moved to the US.
She had brought with her, her German winter clothes which she discovered what Americans wear in the fall...
She was shocked beyond belief and could not understand how so many people could live in a place (the Midwest) that is an icy snowy arctic hellscape for 6 months out of the year.
She is still in disbelief that our daughter who was born in April in Cleveland was driven home in a snow storm.
She wouldn’t make it in Alaska or Canada 😂
@@jaminwaite3867Forget Alaska or Canada, she wouldn’t make it in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Illinois.
@@lightningfletch5598😆 I live the northern Midwest too. While we have it bad, from what I've read Montana, Wyoming and the mountains in Colorado are even more brutal.
me, a southerner: fascinating.
Me, also a southerner: quite fascinating indeed.
@Snowleaper @Yeetur McBeetur Me, a floridian, fascinating yet also terrifying.
Wolfheart Darnell I just moved from Florida to Colorado and winter is definitely fascinating and terrifying. Nothing is weirder than walking out into weather that's colder than my freezer lol.
In Cali: I see... I heard snow is like rain? I wouldn't know about either
@@100GTAGUY heres a tip from a colorado native. If you go into the mountains and are afraid of getting stuck in the snow. Carry kitty litter in your car and pour it in front of your wheels if you spin out. The litter gets pulled under your car and gives you more grip.
I believe Neil Gaiman said that he thought he could survive American winters because he was English but then came over here and realized he knew nothing about cold or winter
Most of North America has continental climate, most of Great Britain has coastal climate. And there are the latitude differences.
Larry Davison don’t forget the bits with altitude that add to the winter “fun”
@@larrydavison8298 The latitude of the UK is entirely north of the continental US. I think it's the gulf stream that makes the climate of Britain, and Europe in general, warmer than that of North America.
In American Gods, Neil Gaiman has the protagonist almost freeze to death in Minnesota while hallucinating the song 'walking in a winter wonderland'
@@mrmadness2699 lol
Down here in Florida I had to break out the thick shorts.
As a Texan I feel this. 🤣
🤣🤣🤣
We bust out our heavyweight tshirts for the brisk 80F winter days...
Lies. I've seen people in Florida wear sweaters in December while I was swimming in the fucking ocean. They looked at me like I was crazy but that shit was warm
on vacation in FL I tried to buy long pants for an interview I had the day I got back to California... the Target did have them but they were just one rack total.
Snow pants man!! Also the penguin waddle is imperative to learn when trekking on stamped snow and ice.
When I moved to Florida the moving men found my snow shovel and asked what it was?
I remember we had family up from Florida to visit and it snowed over night. The kids were amazed and wanted to play in it all day. They had never seen snow before.
I remember one year we went to relatives in florida for christmas [we live in NY], we were walking around in t-shirts while everyone else was in sweaters, apparently there was a cold snap that year. A few days later there were fire alarms going off all over, my brothers and I thought it must be a huge fire for that many alarms; it wasn't until my brother checked his watch and realized it was New Years: it just didn't feel like the end of the year to us.
My cousin moved from NH to Florida and her ice scraper is a novelty item in her neighborhood.
lol why did you bring it with you
"it's for the bodies"
Hi from New England, don’t forget the rock salt bud. Traction is key out there folks the sidewalks are slick as hell. Stay hydrated/vertical this winter
When you find yourself on ice, walk with shorter and wider steps. Walk like a penguin. It might look silly, but not as silly as having your feet fly up in front of you while you land flat on your back. A lot less painful, too.
@@thudthud5423 no control your feet. Make sure not to spring your feet (usually how people run). Step flat footed and you'll fall less. Also never forget the super slippin shuffle.
Yes, Matt! Rock salt (or ice melt) was the first thing I thought of when I saw the video title.
I put so much ice-melt on the driveway last year that it looked like a massacre in the Smurf's village!
@@DSiren Also stop at every Dunkin or Starbucks you pass, no matter which you like. I don't even like coffee, but their hot chocolate is great.
A trick to make heavy ice easier to remove from your car: Start the engine and turn up the heater before you clear your way out and brush off the loose snow from the car¹. Then the ice will come right off because you have melted the layer that actually attaches it to the glass. One of the very satisfying things that can happen in winter is sending a half-inch thick sheet of ice sliding off your windshield in a single piece with one blow.
1: If you are one of those people who go "it will blow off as I drive," could you speak up and give your location so that someone can hit you with a clue-by-four.
YES. Also "clue by four", I'm totally stealing that. I know LOTS of people who could stand to be hit by one...
Happened to my aunt. A sheet of ice flew of a semi and hit her windshield, smashing it. She made it to work and my father and uncle took it to the body shop (my father driving her Jeep while my uncle followed). My father said he had to basically hang his head out the window to see, ace Ventura style.
In Alaska we cover the windshield and hood with a quilt. It's to help the block heater do its job, but it also prevents condensation ice on the windshield.
I've lived in the Midwest all my life and it always surprises me what people don't know about snow.
I am encountering my first Minnesotan winter! My Fitbit literally tells me that shovelling the snow is as good exercise as my classes at the gym!
Careful. Your heart attack risk goes up when shoveling snow.
My husband is a Brit who had never been to the US until he flew here to marry me. Imagine, middle of January in Minnesota! He was to say the least, under prepared for the weather. Having been raised in Wigan, he had never seen so much snow all in one place. We got married on January 31 during a very warm snap! It was sunny and in the 40's very unusual for Minnesota. His reaction to how cold it gets in the winter versus how hot it gets in the summer was funny. He was dumbfounded! After 12 years he got used to it.
Renee Leighton
The first time my native Floridian husband saw snow, he thought it was sand piled up under some trees at crater Lake. In fact, they’d had 60 feet of snow that winter, so there were still huge mounds of it in July! So, we parked the car, got out and ran around in it. He tells people that he’d never seen “Wild snow” before.
@@lindaterrell6104 Wild snow that is funny.
Spent part of a winter in Minneapolis. The locals say it has the same climate as Moscow Russia. I believe it. I'm from Orange County NY where it can get quit cold at times, but nothing like the Twin Cities. Got there in the spring and couldn't figure out why everyone had electrical plugs hanging out of their car grills.
@@georgestreicher252 me when I moved to Alaska though, block heaters are a must if you dont have a heated garage and it drops below zero.
@@georgestreicher252 In Moscow, the weather is crazy year round. It can be around 40 F one day and drop to - 25 F the next day. Wind makes winters even more fun. The summers are also wonderful - last summer it was around 90 F all of June and early July, and in low and mid 50s F the rest of the summer. It was windy and rainy too. Snow in May or June? Yes! Happens from time to time. So, if you are going to Moscow in the summer, pack a swimming suit and a warm jacket.
I think I know why I love this channel. Because I find American life fascinating and British sarcasm endeering. Combine the two and it’s gold
Living in Missouri: Spin the wheel! What will we have today? 90 degree weather in December followed by 4 feet of snow and negative wind chill the next day? Yes.
coolhorselover234 I’m in Chicago true story, one day it was -50 two days later it was 53 degrees f
Yeah, basically michigan but less surprising. Have had it drop from 70 to 30 and gone from sitting in the sun to bundling inside in the same day.
lol well, like my cousin from Missouri always says "I AIN'T NEVER GOIN BACK TO MISSOURI!!"
Ugh, please dont remind me. I shipped to Ft .Lost In the Woods in September, ahh, just like upstate SC for about 4 months, December rolls around, its freezing, one day we couldnt even march as there was a layer of ice over EVERYTHING, even the gravel was slick, then around Christmas a freak tornado hit...
As a Saint Louisian, I agree.
I made the same discoveries when I moved from California to Chicago about 30 years ago. I slipped and fell down five times walking one block from the el stop to my apartment. My lovely leather shoes which were so chic in San Francisco were a stupid liability in Chicago. I don't mind it anymore. In fact I rather like winter. I tell myself that.
What part of California, and why did you move?!
And then there's snow chains, and keeping cat litter in the car.
Cat litter is a must!
Cat littler, cardboard and smaller snow shovel....
@B L you bundle it up and put in front of your tires to help give your car traction if you're stuck
What's the cat litter for I've never heard that one before.
@@toxic_money3274 It's used for traction, usually pouring it out. However if the bag is heavy, it could make the rear heavier giving it traction. I do the same with sandbags in the bed of my pickup.
When scraping your car I hope you've also started the engine and the heater from the inside. Having even just a small bit that's starting to melt on the windshield makes scraping so much easier.
unless it's so cold that it all refreezes on your wipers. Then the real fun begins.
@@johnjon4688 you have to turn the defroster on
@@badlandsghost Some times the defroster just can't make a dent in the cold though. I'm from Minnesota. There are days where The wind is so cold it pretty much just balances the defroster at freezing. And I've got a truck! lol.
@@johnjon4688 my moms from ohio so i know the feeling. One time she was so mad she plugged her hairdryer in and used it to melt the ice with the defroster on AND the scrapper 😂
Lay a tarp over your windshield with the ends tucked into your doors and you don't have to deal with the scraping. :)
'Never scrape ice without gloves' *Me with my hoodie sleeves covering my hands* "What did you say?"
The one that struck us (moving from southern Ontario to the prairies) was the block heater. A little plug-in heater tapped into the engine that heats enough to prevent the oil from becoming, for all practical intents, solid. We saw all these cars with electrical plugs and we were mighty puzzled. This was way, way before Tesla. Then our Ontario van froze so hard it had to be towed to warm up in the repair shop and get a heater installed. Pricey lesson, but at least the lecture from the mechanic to my Dad on idiocy was free.
Did you know that the invention of the shovel was ground breaking?
Lol
So who had the scoop on that one?
I can't handle this
You're thinking of the spade. You don't break ground with a shovel. #pedant
Ba dum dum
"Face shield"? I've never heard that article of clothing called that. To me, a face shield is a clear sheet of plastic suspended in front of your face to keep grit and flying particles of metal from hitting you while working. In my neck of the woods, the headgear you're wearing has always been called either a ski mask or a Balaclava.
Face shield is used in the ER so the drunks can't spit right in your face while being restrained.
Kids in Novaya Zemlya island has got to use that transparent plastic shields exactly for the wind protection back in the days
I agree. I’ve only ever heard it referred to as a ski mask.
Another vote for ski mask- never heard it called anything else.
And seems to be a staple during the COVID pandemic
"you may see members of the council using them but not ACTUAL human beings" lmao
I liked that too.. Council Aliens
I made the snow thrower you showed!
Of course, where I work we make 60% of all snow throwers in the US, so the odds were in my favor
You make America a nicer place, by being in it Laurence.
Protip: When using the ice scraper, use the textured side to score lines in the ice before you scrape it with the flat side. That'll make it a lot easier to get ice off your windshield.
Also, if you're going to spend a lot of time outside, put old breadbags in your boots for extra waterproofing. Ciao!
Dont dont do breadbags. They dont let your feet breath. They will cause sweat to stay in the liner making your feet colder in the long run.
Protip: Spend the extra time and money to find and buy a brass bladed scraper. They will last for years instead of one or two seasons like the crappy plastic ones. They clean a window faster and cleaner than plastic as well.
@@towermonkey5563 Agree. Plastic ones not only don't work, they break on the second use, if not first.
Wool over socks
@Manek Iridius Umm, yeah that doesn't work on 1/8" ice. It is good for an emergency removal of frost, but useless otherwise in any serious situation.
"Sometimes there's two feet of snow..."
That's called Tuesday for Buffalo. Such is our lives for 8-10 months
Lol yup.
I'm from Northern Wisconsin and I almost moved to Buffalo, I read up. I will take more cold and less snow. 8 ft a year is enough thank you.
Here in Idaho we call two feet of snow a mild winter. We can get at least five feet of snow.
8-10?
Maybe 30 years ago...
@@hhiippiittyy We just got a foot of snow in one night last weekend.
It should be noted that the winter wind in Chicago is named "the Hawk" because it can tear at your flesh.
I've been a Chicagoan (north side) my entire life and I've never heard that term.
@@kitskivich come to the west side or the south, you will hear ppl cursing the hawk
Although known as the winfy city, Chicago doesn't even appear on the top 30 list of the actual average windiest cities in the US.wtop.com/national/2016/05/30-windiest-cities-us/
Could it be combination of cold and wind? Freeze dry the skin, moving skin cracks, cracked bleeding skin looks like you've been attacked by bird claws? Stay safe♡
For those who don't know the hawk is the wind that crosses the great lakes
My husband always calls me after work and says "I love my heated steering wheel", a seat warmer is always a plus too.
Also, a specific set of driving skills. Here in Ohio it snows and ices up every year and for some reason people drive like they've never seen it before, lol.
I swear the driving bit is everywhere where it snows. Everybody drives like they have never driven in the snow. It’s either going 3mph when the road is slightly wet and salted or 90mph when the road hasn’t been plowed yet. And it’s usually people in lifted trucks or sports/muscle cars.
Columbus here, can confirm everything you said is true. Lol
Same in Michigan, yep yep yep!!
Cleveland. Yup yup. Then comes the first really decent day of spring and everyone has to practice their racing skills.
As they do south of Buffalo. BUFFALO! Why??!!
Snow blowers are the Lambroginis of Minnesota
If he was rural midwest he would have included snowmobile. At school there was actual snowmobile parking during the winter.
DAVE ADAM Zamboni 😱
especially v8 powered ones
@@jottow680 snow blowers or Zamboni? I guess a V8 snow blower would be able to throw the snow onto the neighbor's roof. A V8 Zamboni would redo a skating surface at better than normal driving speeds, or melt it all the way down, depending on where the power focused.
I have no idea what would happen to a snowmobile with a V8, or of it's a possibility. It sounds terrifying, though.
@@goldengryphon few people have built a v8 snowmobile. and a zamboni is designed to be slow to achieve a smooth surface. they scrape a small layer of ice off . Im talking the double wide v8 powered snow blower. think a guy here in mn made one. would throw snow over his house.
Him: shocked about what winter was *really* like in the USA
Me: _laughs in Canadian_
Nebraska is the physically closest I ever got to Canada and their winters felt like dementors coming out of the sky and sucking away your happiness and will to live. Are you guys doing alright?
@@Nemo0279 the human body eventually gets used to pain.
In Michigan we get lake effect snow. It's usually wet and inches are too small of a unit to measure it with.
Me: Laughs in Alaska.
@@Nemo0279 "closest" Mate, alaska.
Years ago in NW Pennsylvania, a man from England moved in across the street from us. We had a lot of snow that winter (as per usual). This man's first attempt at removing the snow on his sidewalk involved many pots of boiling water. Of course this melted the snow, but left a long crystal clear coating of ice on his sidewalk.
"Members of the council but not actual human beings." 🤣🤣🤣
It translates perfectly :-)
@@pgtmr2713 NO IT DOESN'T!
Yeah, they're not considered humans.
I moved from SoCal to MN. My first winter, and the first time I ever drove in snow, was the infamous Halloween Blizzard. 3 feet of snow in 12 hours. I was snowed in for two days, I didn't have boots, a decent coat, shovel, TV, phone, cigarettes, Coke, much food, or a pet to keep me company, etc. I only had a radio and nightmares.
Ofta that was a bad one
Epic. God bless this country
That was a really bad storm, even for those of us, who are used to MN. Then a month later, we got hit again.
@@hisbean Yes, just before Thanksgiving as I recall. I had boots and a shovel by then, but I was 18 and didn't have enough money at the time for a proper coat, let alone enough money for curtains.
The last line is brilliant.
The better alternative to snow boots is an good pair of wool socks with a sturdy pair of construction boots or army surplus boots.
they're purposefully made to be worn for long periods of time so are quite comfortable as well as being weatherproof, plus the hardened front is fantastic for kicking the ice off stuff, forcing open something that's stuck or protecting your foot from things hidden in the snow.
I can reliably inform you that in Scotland I regularly need my snow shovel, ice scraper, winter boots and ski goggles. Also Yaktrax are a game changer! And I love my Landrover wih auto-defrost winscreen - I'm not that tall so I can't reach the centre of the windscreen with a scraper.
I was thinking that it probably got colder in Scotland, also maybe northeastern England.
You forgot Road Salt, that you can get at a hardware store. Like Lowe's. Road Salt melts the ice. Good for driveways and walk ways and side walks.
They started using some kind of molasses mix by me. Worked well on the roads, but the point is to try to use less salt since the melt/refreeze absolutely trashes the roads.
@Leonard Chornomaz Indiana. It's a mixture with molasses, point being (i think) to bind it to the road more and something about the mixture is to reduce the refreeze problems.
@Leonard Chornomaz Depends on where you come from, when you used your first bag of the stuff. Rock Salt is something you use when you wanna hand crank some Ice Cream.
@Leonard Chornomaz www.ibj.com/articles/67274-cities-states-seek-alternatives-to-corrosive-salt-for-melting-ice-on-roads
It's to use less salt and around us it was molasses. They were trail-testing the mixtures last year on 465 and 69 in spots to see differences. Haven't had much snow or hard freeze this year to do much.
@Leonard Chornomaz molasses is used to increase the affect of the salt. It works at lower temperatures than salt alone. It's used in the UK as well.
As someone who lived in the United Kingdom (Welsh Hook, Wales and High Wycombe , England) and now lives in Anchorage, Alaska this makes me happy.
Jason Middleton
How’s Spenard doing? I used to live on the end of Northwood in Spenardagain.
I grew up on Muldoon!
@@agypsycircle I actually live in the Russian Jack area :)
"Sometimes there is 2 feet of snow and you cant even see your car"
Me in the mountains: that's cute...
No one cares
@@drakeweddner who hurt you?
Your desprate attempt at humor did
@@drakeweddner my apologies for hurting you🤝
Several years ago, a man actually lost his car in the Gurnee Mills parking lot. He couldn't find it, the police couldn't find it, so he reported it stolen to his insurance company and bought a new car. In the spring, the mounds of snow that had been plowed up in the corners of the lot melted, and lo and behold, there was his car.
Living in Illinois during winter I find the most important item is a plane ticket south.
Q: What is the difference between a winter wonderland and a frozen hell ?
A: A snow shovel.
- Colorado high country -
As a Coloradan, I agree
Snow tires, roof rakes, hand warmers... Must be a shock first seeing a real winter as an adult, not so bad growing up with it.
Scott from Maine aw, the roof rake. If you needed it, you are in trouble.
@Annistar today I learned roof rakes are a thing
@Annistar Half of our country doesn't suffer from this kind of wintry hell.
My winter is usually 50°F.
(But my summers are in the 100°'s)
Here in NJ all my life. As a kid we suffered heavy snow. This year we only got less than an inch by the winter solstice. Climate change is a blessing and a curse. The heavy snow we used to get is directed elsewhere
@montanerdz They definitely are -if too much snow builds up on the roof you can get ice dams in the gutters so when the snow starts to melt the water can’t get off the roof and then backs up under the shingles and comes in the house. Also, depending on how flat your roof is there’s a concern about the weight of the snow.
"You may see Council Members using them, but not actual human beings!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Not Council STAFF?
Saying weather in America is so strange to me because its so large I’m used to saying northwest or east coast or the south.
Yeah, like this one thing I saw with temperature comparisons, when it got to an entry about "Average temperature in the American winter" was like "WHICH PART?! Dude, there's such a difference between Hawaii and Minnesota, you don't even know..." (To be fair, the person making that video was ALSO not American. Or a native English speaker, I think. :P)
MIDWEST HERE
The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco or whatever that quote is. I can confirm, and I grew up in New England.
5:08 I'm so glad you mentioned that mini-avalanche! I've always found it strangely pleasing and satisfying to create and watch, yet no one ever seems to talk about it.
@Annistar - ...but first you try to brush the snow off the seat, but forget that you have wet, snowy gloves on and end up making an even bigger mess. So now it's wet butt, wet coat, wet feet, and wet car interior. Add to that the little accumulation of flurries that gather atop your head but you always forget to brush off before sitting down, and ahhh... the joys and pains of winter. 😄
Laurence, you forgot to mention the most useful part of winter boots (especially for those unaware of their existence), the treads on the bottom.
You have forgotten that boots with a good tread pattern on the bottoms are very valuable to your health when walking on icy pavement because they help to keep you from falling down.
Heh, reminds me of another thing you acquire over the winter, a stride/gait specifically for walking on icy ground. Completely unconscious and almost unnoticeable until spring.
Yep. I remember that one time I had a school band concert to play in, so I was dressed up nice, including high heels...and IMMEDIATELY REGRETTED IT when trying to cross the school parking lot. What a fun evening _that_ was!
To do: Invent dressy girly shoes with snow treads...
Treads are super nice but in really crappy weather you need to wrap your boots with good grippers :) Was surprised being from MI that others don’t have degrees of boot usage ... wet slush, bit of snow, snow covering calf, upper thigh snow lvl boots and really icy boots!
New Englander here, Bangor, Maine to be specific. We call those Balaclavas. We also carry jumper cables and a selection of things needed in case we wreck or get stranded in our cars in a blizzard. We buy studded snow tires which are on October - April and if you live in certain places you have tire chains as well. Many homes have a way to heat when the Electricity is running and a way when the power is out, like a wood fireplace or gas fireplace. This far North there is one Style only. Layers of warm clothing including huge parkas. No one even pretends to look fashionable or feminine, just sensible. This far north everyone either has a plow they can attach to their truck or knows half a dozen guys who do when the snow blower is not enough. Not for the faint of heart and originally settled by quite a lot of Scottish Highlanders, sturdy and practical people. Love it here! ❤
I love how you've made "winter arm cramps" seem like one of the most terrifying and dangerous American phenomena. Like the news will come out each day with a winter arm cramp count and the names of its victims that season. "2 Dead, 57 More Wounded in Mass Shoveling After Recent Chicago Blizzard"😂
Cramp arm weather alerts on the morning advisory lol
@@yaimajerk Nobody tell him about the "heart attack snow" phenomenon. I have definitely heard that phrase as part of a weather forecast
A pair of flannel underwear (top and bottom) worn under the clothes can help keep you toasty as well. More so when it's windy. the face shield I've always called either a ski mask or a balaclava.
I call it a lifesaver. (Just a "hood", actually. You can wear a thick and warm coat but once that cold wind climbs down your neck into it, it can become close to useless. This can eliminate that breach in the armor. I remember walking to work (a 1000ft trip) with one of those in -20F weather and it made a huge difference!
Neck gaiters too... I prefer them to the ski mask. Means I don't need a scarf.
Socks, socks, socks...keep your feet warm and dry. The snow boots with the removable liner is good, nobody ever has a spare liner ....whistling....
Hehehe, I use a pair of sweat pants under blue jeans for weather below zero. Warm as heck and wind could NOT penetrate that denim lol. Also could usually get away with a fleece hoody under a hooded wind breaker rather than a bulky winter coat.
Also I made a rather comfortable scarf alternative by taking a cheap winter hat (Some people call it a beany. Don't know why) and ripping the seam out, then folding it over itself into a ring and sliding it down over my head and onto my neck. Completely covers your neck and blocks cold from funneling down into your coat.
I've lived in the Chicagoland area my whole life, I've never heard a ski mask called a face shield before.
@@nn-ro1lv Wisconsinite here, I've only heard it be called a balaclava by stores/manufacturers. Everyone here just says ski mask.
I think face shield is a specific type of head cover, the ones with one big hole like his, ski masks and balaclavas usually have two or three holes
@@nn-ro1lv no, never
Its not a face shield it's a ski mask
I have heard it called a balaclava, which I thought was a British word.
Having lived here in the midwest after spending my first 3 decades in California was a difficult transition. The hype about California weather is mostly true and not just hype! We have had 72-degree weather at Christmas. Here we get excited about 32-degree weather during the winter. If it gets into the lower 40's, as it did a few weeks back, you see shorts coming out of the closet. I used my first snowblower and was surprised at how well ice melt works. I don't suppose you would experience black ice or freezing rain in the UK either. Or coming out of work to find that your car doors are so iced over you can't get your key in the hole, let alone open the door! We have broken door handles trying to force our way in before hypothermia sets in.
Move to Missouri where you get to frequently have all four seasons in a 24 hour period!
True true, but we have good food
If you are outside for a period of time, then something called "Hot Hands" or equivalent is a must. Basically warms up when contacted with air and are used as warmers.
As a midwesterner, I have 3 ice scrapers in my car. Because reasons.
I bought a really long one that will reach across the front window (great for shorter folks), with two scraping sides and lights. I thought it was one of the greatest things I'd ever seen.
I have a selection of ice scrapers and snow brushes in my car but rarely use them. The app-controlled heater is a lifesaver. Greetings from Norway..
EvilJif me too
Backups for the main scraper, like Destiny's Child. I got three too, my fav is one I got in the late 80's. A brush/scraper combo on a wooden stick. Works better than the plastic one of today
My favorite scraper is an old gift card. Totally lifts the ice swiftly off the shield. But i still have a brush scraper squeegee combo in my cars
In western Canada, we call those "face shields" balaclavas. We also have some VERY light winter boots. It's so nice to be liberated from "clompies".
You would find roof rakes very amusing. They are used to remove the snow from the roof in the 4-6 feet nearest the gutters to avoid ice dams.
"I'd realized I made the mistake of wearing....sneakers."
You poor, poor man. I have rubber lined, cloth lined, tongue sewn in boots just for the winter months.
I've got numerous boots just for winter that is the only reason why I haven't moved to a warmer climate.
Oh, and money. Money's kept me here, too.
I used to have a pair of "moon boots" as a kid in Iowa. Laugh at how goofy _looking_ they were all you want, they were EFFECTIVE. I remember, we had this big ol' rug right inside the school doors where everybody would sit down, take their boots off, and switch to their shoes (unless they had someplace else to do that). Every school day in the winter. Ah, memories... :P
I just wear flip-flops.
@Manek Iridius Any reason could be a shitty reason depending on perspective. Honestly though? I was making a joke. A pair of boots is even more of a stupid reason to stay somewhere.
I laughed so hard when he said that
Very fun, love your observations. I grew up in Upstate NY and assumed every kid got up an hour early to shovel their dad out of the driveway each winter morning. Wrong! Shovels, ice bar, snow broom, and a roof plow (15 feet long with handle) to keep your roof from collapsing under the ice and snow load. Then there were another of four tools to clean of the car without taking off the chrome and paint. One bad winter we had an icicle of 4 feet wide x 10 feet long attached to our roof. My dad thought it weighed half a ton (hence easily lethal) so decided to turn a space heater and hair dryer on it from an attic perch. After six hours it melted some and crashed into my mother's rose garden. By spring we had 15-20 feet of snow as a mountain in our front yard. Me and my buds used to tunnel into it and made a fort with secret passages. We stocked the stout fort with iceballs and were ready to take on all infidels coming down the road. Boys just love that kind of thing and I would not have grown up any other way! -another Laurence (Hatch). The proper spelling counts.
Wind screen makes me visualize all the wind swooshing in 😆
Subtlety of imagining the shared moments as he explains them just makes me laugh. Like, the shoveling... I grew up in Minnesota and Wisconsin, so Im numbed to it. I remember working at this hotel and he had a 2ft drop overnight; well through the night. So, I was constantly going back and forth managing the sidewalks and this english guest was just amazed at how natural I was handling the situation being his first winter in the states. Calling all the snowfall a disaster after a 50+degree and sunny day. I just told him, the disaster was riding the city bus to work in flipflops and shorts.
Chicagoan here. I’ve walked during blizzards, lake-effect snow and afternoon temps way, way below zero.
It’s not bad at all if you are prepared.
As most in the midwest would say, "It wouldn't be half bad, if it wasn't for the wind." (Said even when it's -20)
Also a Chicagoan here and yes, it's totally fine! Sure, those -40 with wind-chill days were cold, but even those weren't unbearable. I'm not going to have a picnic in the park, but commuting and brief walks are fine.
As they say in Scandinavia, “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!”
Lake effect snow is the best. Tip of the Mitt here....we can get it from all angles
Yeah well I've walked in sub-zero weather with 45 mph wind in flip-flops, a thong and a tummy shirt. and it was snowing,
Nebraskan here who often travels to Minnesota during the winter to visit family. I've gotten so used to snowy weather that I've forgotten that not everybody knows what it's like to walk a dog through knee-deep snow (and I had to carve a path in the snow because my dog was a corgi and the snow was higher than he was).
I also used to go ice fishing with my grandpa in Minnesota before my grandma died and he sold the lakeside house. The ice on the lake was thick enough to drive a van on. When you're driving on a frozen lake, you have to roll your windows down or else you won't be able to open the door if the ice breaks and the vehicle goes under (with the windows closed, the pressure outside the vehicle is greater underwater so it holds the doors shut, but with the windows open, water can rush in and equalize the pressure so you can open the door). We sat in a little shack in the middle of the frozen lake and fished through a hole drilled into the ice. We caught a ton of lake perch and fried some up and froze the rest for later. It was some of the most delicious fish I've ever had.
I met a guy once who made little snow shoes for his dog so it could walk on top of the snow. :)
@Leonard Chornomaz As long as you get out ...who cares how fast it sinks ?
I remember going ice fishing when we used a steel bar with a chisel end to pound a hole through the ice. And they usually had a loop on the other end in case of, well you figure it out.
Migitri: Some of my best childhood memories are ice fishing and duck hunting with my dad and uncles! Cold, yet fun listening to their stories. The pond I live on is full of delicious yellow perch, but last year it only froze completely twice, and it froze over last week and now it's back to water. But my neighbor and I still caught a half dozen from our favorite spot on shore and we had fresh perch for christmas eve supper.
@@bullettube9863
But the question that begs to be asked. When fishing for ice fish what's the limit. Minimum size? Weight? Number of ice fish. 🙄
After several years in Minnesota, I gave up scrapping. I just throw a tarp over my Jeep, tie one end off to the fence or my mail box post, then after it snows, just drive. There's still some detail cleaning but that get's most of it. Shake it out, and put it back on when I get home. I live in Virginia now, only have to worry about once or twice every couple years :) Great video, love seeing the different quirks from country to country.
"I love it on me. My wife loves it on me."
"No I don't."
"What do you mean you don't?"
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
As an American from a snowy state, I absolutely detested snow boots growing up. Even as an adult I only reluctantly put them on. I’ll wear my canvas Vans as long as I can 😂
Same. My chucks ARE my winter shoes.
I usually wear an old pair of steel toe work boots when I shovel snow. Otherwise, I wear sneakers.
As someone who wears hard toe boots all year round, this is an issue I don't have.
@Annistar lol they aren't parade boots. Though that would be hilarious.
I love snow boots. I have a pair of hard foam rubber wellies that are easy to slide into and of, are very comfortable, and can keep my feet warm for hours outside, in central Alaska.
"My wife loves it on me"
"I don't"
"What do you mean you don't"
Also a great tutorial for southern Americans! I don't think I've ever experienced anything as brutal and painful as the winter Chicago wind! I shudder just thinking about it!
There is a classic YT video where someone digs out a car and beeps it only to reveal they dug out the car NEXT to their car.
Saw a prank where someone built a lifesize car out of snow in the road and the cops almost thought it was a real car. Gave them a fake funny ticket on it.
Laurence, I have one of those hoods. They are life savers. You can have a nice and warm coat, but once the wind goes down your neck, you can forget it. A scarf can do the same thing, but its bulky and it can still leave a gap. The hood combines a hat with a "turtleneck" and it comes up over your nose and covers your ears. In very cold air, you can combine it with a stocking cap.
I suggest long johns as well.
His wife’s single “No.” in the background made this video. As a husband I’ve heard that flat “No.” too!
Good, lol
As a carbon based life form with auditory input, I also heard it.
I thought she said "I know"
A remote car starter is the best gift I've ever been given! Nothing like letting the car warm up before setting foot outside! Makes ice and snow removal so much easier!
Growing up in MA with lots of shoveling we had one shovel not a snow shovel just a dirt shovel too. No snow blowers. We survived.
Ah. The joys of scraping ice off of the car windscreen, sometimes multiple times per day. Also having your car encased in a glaze of freezing rain. Can't get the car door open because it's frozen shut! Aack!! Winter can be messy, but snow is so beautiful. Bring on the snow! 😎👍❄
This is excacly why some Americans (Canadians too) become snowbirds
when they retire.
🌴🌞
That's why Arizona and Florida see a large increase in population for a few months. Thus the term, snowbirds. I know you already know. More for the readers who wonder what the hell a snowbird is.
@@rbrtgrdn Their is a lady in our church in Washington State that is the champion snowbird. In January she flew down to Chile to visit her relatives.
@@kenneththompson1809 My father has a neighbor (California) who flies to Chile in August to snowmobile. Weird that the seasons are reversed.
It's true, Toronro only hires the finest Blue Jays.
I recently retired and thought about doing that, but realized that what I disliked was having to go out in the snow or being afraid of black ice. Now that I can stay inside, I'm fine with living in my cold state. : )
Just came across your channel, and I'm already a fan! = ) I have spent nearly 40 years living in "The Snow Belt" of Northeastern Ohio, where we constantly get much more snow than surrounding parts of the state thanks to the extra moisture from Lake Erie, so I definitely identified with all the items you mentioned! It also never really occurred to me that these items, which are ubiquitous to me, would not be commonplace in other countries in the northern latitudes such as the U.K. and Western Europe; so it definitely goes both ways!
I will share with you my GREATEST winter tip, which took me 30+ years to realize and implement, and which as far as I can tell, my neighbors and family members never considered before either.
I NOW keep a large spray bottle (properly labeled, of course) filled with windshield wiper fluid, in my trunk or back seat, etc. This provides two FANTASTIC advantages.
1.) As the car is warming up/defrosting, I can spray ALL of my windows, helping the snow/ice/frost to melt, and/or be scraped away MUCH more easily and quickly! Especially the super fine frost which is a pain in the butt to scrape, AND the super thick ice which can make it hard to get to door locks, or gas tank doors. It also saves my windshield wipers from getting chunks of the rubber ripped off from being frozen to the glass, extending their life.
2.) Before I started doing this, I found that I often ran out of windshield wiper fluid in the main tank in which it is intended to be kept; usually at the worst possible times, like going 70mph on the freeway in a blizzard. The reason, obviously, is that NO ONE is diligent or conscientious enough to check the fluid tank before and after each car trip, or remember to top it off when they stop for gas. BUT, since I've started using the extra spray bottle, the spray bottle runs out of fluid much more quickly BUT also much more noticeably, THEREFORE I now almost always have most of a gallon bottle in the trunk as well, just to fill the spray bottle. So I'm reminded much more often that I'm running low on fluid, much more likely to remember to top off the main tank, and much more likely to have extra fluid on hand if the main tank does happen to run out of fluid!
I hope my tip saves you guys a significant amount of winter struggle, and keep up the great content!
“Members of the council but not actual human beings”
😂 sounds like politicians are the same wherever you go
In Minnesota you have to have all of these things...and our ice scrapers have a snow brush on the other side so you can brush the snow off.
I call this item my Idaho ice scraper as that's where I bought it when I was living there. It was handy to brush the snow off my car after a storm. It never snowed like Minnesota, but I do prefer to have my snow on the ground not waiting to block my windshield.
You have been Americanized! I understood 'sneakers' as we call them are 'trainers' in the UK, but you didn't even hesitate and called them sneakers lol
On the west coast we call them tennis shoes.
vegasdime brown why tho....
@@angelinageorge9526 no idea really, we just do. Maybe cuz west coast best coast.
@@sophinal I've never called them that, and I'm a life west-coaster. But my childhood bf, who actually played tennis, did.
@@sophinal we say that too, here in ohio, we use both actually.
Watching this in 2021 and noticing that "Face Shield" has taken on a whole new meaning now
I was visiting family in the wintertime a few years ago and rented a vehicle with a REMOTE START feature! Talk about luxury! From the comfort of my aunties home I could stay inside and warm up the car without stepping foot outside first! After a few minutes just run outside and jump in the car and it’s already toasty warm! It’s the best!
Man, last time I was this early, Pangaea hadn't separated yet.
Those faceshields are called a “Balaklava”
*balaclava
As a child I mixed up "balaclava" and "baklava". Took me years to live that down 😆
*baklava 😁
That's the word I was trying to think of.
I think balaclava is British. I’ve always called them ski masks. Who calls it a face shield? No one.
Well, except this guy.
As a native Vermonter, its so interesting to hear about people first experience with snow! Here, it starts snowing mid-October and we still get a small bit of snow through mid-April! The things you listed I've been using and wearing since I was 3, aside from the snowblower, but my family owned one.
I moved to NE Indiana when I was 23 in 1993 from Northern California, not the mountains in Northern California but the Sacramento Valley Northern California wherever we observe the snow on the distant mountains. It does snow about an inch in the Valley maybe once every 5 years. It was a real surprise at how much stuff was needed to survive the never-ending midwest winters!
And, of course, when you've been and done all the snow clearing, got in the car, stopped for petrol because you've burnt a quarter tank while shoveling, and got to work, you need somewhere to store all the extra clothing - - as well as having another pair of shoes (unless you're going to go round in your socks (or snow boots) all day), and the ability to dry out the hat and gloves and scarf (and usually the coat and boots too) so that you won't freeze going back outdoors.
If you've only run down to the shops, you'll need to carry your coat about so you won't be all sweaty when you get back outdoors, since most stores have their heat up on high because it's winter.
Don't forget the extra time you need for EVERYTHING, shoveling and getting into the extra clothing and driving and finding parking and just walking through the snow.
Happy New Year! 🥶
Poor Brit, after moving to the country with the most violent weather on Earth.
Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, blizzards, dust storms...yep; crazy weather.
But you can go skiing on a snow covered mountain, and surfing in the warm ocean 4 hours later.
You can be eaten by an alligator, a bear, a mountain lion, and maybe wolves and wild dogs.
You can freeze to death, or bake to death, on the same day; it's your choice. Big country.
You like living in the swamp? Fine. On a snowy mountain top? Fine. In the desert? Also fine.
In a big city, or small town, or on a farm or ranch, or suburbia, or in the wild, wild country? Yep; fine.
We Americans are NOT a melting pot -- we are a stew. Ingredients apparent, but great flavor combined.
Hang around -- there is a great future for you here. But I guess you already know that...
Speaking of weather, if you don't like it, wait 15 minutes. Granted this incident wasn't 15 minutes, rather 9 hours. A tornado in the morning a blizzard that night. The midwest is a lovely place.
Don't forget thundersnow (rare but amazing), freezing rain, hail, droughts, derechos (straight line winds...terrifying things), and extreme winter/summer temperature variances (Minnesota -51C to 46C recorded).
Other places have Climate... we have Weather.
You forgot that you can also be eaten by people, i.e., Jeffrey Dahmer.
I'm in Utah, The Swamp and the Snowy Mountain Top are inside the Desert.
The most disturbing description of a snowball, "congealed snow". Laurence, as always, the ultimate wordsmith!
Face shield: Otherwise known as a balaclava. I'm in the SE UK and I have one for when I cycle to work at this time of year (about 17 miles each way).
Ice scraper: Many people I know have one, and use it, in the UK.
Snow shovel: We had one where I lived as a kid because we would regularly get enough snow to need one (I lived in Warwickshire at the time).
The face shield we've always called a balaclava here in New England.
Same in Nebraska, wonder if "face shield" is a Chicago thing?
I work in the Chicagoland area and we call them balaclavas too. At least those who work in the Petro-chemical industries. We wear FR rated balaclavas as safety gear, as well as, winter gear.
Northeast, here. From what I've gathered, "balaclava" is the official name, while "face shield" or "hood" are the casual names. There are also a lot of hunters or "tactical specialists" in the area just outside my small city, so balaclava is usually used by them to sound "badass."
Just wanted to add that my little part of NY tends to share some linguistic similarities (accents, pronunciation, slang) to the upper Midwest, so to Austin: if "face shield" is indeed a Chicago thing, it wouldn't surprise me that it's used here, as well.
Also want to edit in a nod for "ski mask" -- that's probably the most common term I've heard for it.
They are called Balaclava here in Wales also, I can remember my mum knitting one for my brother 60/65 years ago.
Ski mask is another common term for them.
U-WI Madison grad, and yes I rode my bike in the deep snow all the winters. And cuz it was no big deal I went to grad school at Cornell and moved to Chicago after finishing. I loved staking out my parking space with nasty kitchen chairs on N. Halsted! Love that “lake effect” snow.
That's possible because northern cities have the budget and equipment to clear the streets of snow, and may require homeowners and businesses to clear their sidewalks. But I wouldn't do it anyway because I can't take the cold wind in my face.
I moved from California to South Dakota. Never experienced a South Dakota winter before that. -55 and 10' snow drifts in front of your house. I would have died without a power generator when we lost power for a week in December and it was -35 during an ice storm. .....and I stayed there for 10 years. I feel your pain and understand your shock and awe moving to the midwest.
The face shield is also known as a balaclava, named after a town visited by your countrymen in the 1800s although some of the people there weren't behaving very welcoming towards visitors.
I'm in Scotland and I use all of these things apart from the snow blower. And the "face shield", I'd call that a balaclava.
grahamlive We call it a balaclava too, here in NY. Never heard face shield in my life.
Grew up in Louisiana, we called them ski masks cuz (the winter weather being “warm” in the South) we’d wear them if we left somewhere to ski.
Grahamlive......I am in Scotland too, where I am, it can be ankle deep in snow in the morning, not such extreme low temperature as other countries though, however by the afternoon sun ☀️ is out out and snow gone. Therefore not able to put snow chains on your tyres. Roads get cleared and gritted too ( eventually 😂).
As a Wisconsin-ite, minus a billion is about right.
Waiting for the 70 degree temperature change in 3 days and it’s only 20
I want to be able to like this more than once, fellow Wisconsin-ite.
I'm in central WI....a helpful hint for cars in the winter....a windshield cover, worth it's weight in gold, Amazon sells all kinds of them.
Dear Cheese-heads, I’m sorry but you Wisconsin-ites don’t really know what cold is. Signed, a northern Minnesotan. P.S. waiting for an Alaskan to put us all in our place.
From Chippewa Falls: Leaving the wipers "up" so they don't freeze to the windshield when it's "warm".
On the farm, we were poir,my father used the same "scoop shovel" for snow that he used for scooping large amounts of feed/grains for feeding the cattle. Then there's shoveling a path for the (shoet) dog....as Arthur will tell you.
Rode a bike to work for a while in Oklahoma. No problem with snow, but hitting a patch of ice on two wheels is a quick trip to the ground.