Lady Gaga. Edward or Jacob? Celebrity reality shows. Farmville. The iPad. Know what else is hot?
My toiletries.
We have air-conditioning units in our dining room and bedrooms, and that’s it. Today’s temperature is 100°F, so anything not located in the dining room or bedrooms is getting broiled. Sometimes it’s nice to slather warm body butter on my feet before I go to bed, but when I start sweating straight out of the shower, I don’t really want my facial moisturizer to heat up my skin like Ben-Gay.
Just for kicks, I conducted a little experiment on our toiletries, and the results were surprising. I’m sure some brainiacs out there could explain this phenomenon, but I did not expect to see such a range of temperatures. I mean, all of these products live in the same sweltering room. Why didn’t they all have the same temperature?
Here’s the rundown (my thermometer only gives readings in Fahrenheit, so I apologize to those of you in the metric world): Our toothpaste got the hottest with a blazing temp of 97.4°F. Shaving cream stayed the coolest with a relatively chilly temp of 95.7°F.
Feeling very clever, I took my experiment one step further, using the scientific method:
(1) Ask a Question – Is there a relationship between the tap labeled “cold” and the actual temperature of the water?
(2) Construct a Hypothesis – Turning on the “cold” tap will release cold water out of the faucet.
(3) Test the Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment – I turned on the “cold” tap and used my thermometer to measure the temperature of the water. At first, the water temperature was 90.4°F, which I believe would universally be considered not cold. After letting the water run for a bit to get the hot water out of the pipes, I measured the temperature again: 92.7°F. It actually got hotter.
(4) Draw a Conclusion – It seems there are two potential conclusions. (a) My hypothesis was wrong, and there is no cold water in Laos. (b) My hypothesis was correct, and “cold” in Laos is a relative term defined as being around 92°F.
So you know what’s NOT hot in Vientiane? Nothing.
That is awesome! Very scientific of you. One of my least favorite parts is sitting the butt burn acquired from sitting on the plastic toilet seat. Hope you are able to keep warm.
Fascinating! My lotion has been doing funky things, its like it has been eating Olean.
I’ve heard about this “cold” water phenomenon in Oman: they use the “hot” water tap in the summer since it’s the water that sits in the hot water tank (which is of course turned off) in the a/c bathroom. I’m thinking of buying red and blue duct tape to cover the handles to help me remember! 🙂 But more importantly: why is there no a/c in your living room? Or is that part of your dining room?
Yeah, it’s a combo living/dining room, but the cold air doesn’t really reach the “living” area very well.
This is hilarious to me! I can just picture you with your thermometer. I wonder how hot they’ll all be mid-summer… Thank goodness you’ll be gone and won’t have to find out.
Hi there! I discovered this hilarious post while trying to pack cetaphil, cucumber melon lotion, etc. for my own big move to Vientiane. After reading this, I thought, “Crap. I don’t even know what works or what I should bring to Vientiane.” Is it possible for us to exchange a few emails so I can ask a few questions (to the experienced) about packing toiletries for a long term stay in Laos? My husband swears I need to take less. You’ve got my email in this post! I hope to hear from you soon!
– Mattie