Through the Locking Glass

Those ain't mountains on the horizon... but when I see it, I wonder if I'll Everest

I know, I know, but it's not that much of a stretch. Bear with me if you will... I like to sleep with the window open an inch or so; it provides fresh air and some soothing white noise from cars on the highway, leaves rustled by the wind, and (best of all) gentle overnight rain.

Thing is, I'm so used to the white noise that now I need the window open all year round. Call me a "complete psycho" (and you won't be the first) but that's just the way it is. No leaves left to rustle but the cars make up for it. That is, assuming the window opens when I want it to. Sometimes it does not! The horror!

Here's the physics, from someone who actually received a "10" in Grade 12 Physics class. No, not 10 out of 10 on a test... but once again, I digress.

Moist inside air condenses on the window panes, droplets expand and roll down the glass, eventually filling the track in which the windows slide. Outside air drops below the freezing point, as does the window, and the track in which it formerly slid... formerly being the key word.

So now the window is frozen in place, which is merely annoying if you're someone looking for some white noise to sleep by. That's assuming the window is shut, by the way...

Sometimes, however, the freezing occurs during the night and morning brings the harsh realization that the open window is going to STAY open for a while. This situation is also annoying: not only to me, but to someone who might ask me to "shut the #&@% window!!"

For those caught in a similar situation (like some dude in Svalbard, Norway, who forgot to close the window to their home office), I have a life-hack solution that involves a blow dryer and a towel. I won't explain the physics, you'll figure it out. Besides, who'd listen to someone who got a 10 in Physics?

(images by ©Aristocratic and ©Kjakan)