Snow. How much did you know about it? And have you shovelled your walk yet?

1. What word means 'fear of snow'?
   
   • Chionophobia. ('Chioni' is Greek for snow. Yes, they get some sometimes.)
2. According to the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, what is snow?
   
   • A mineral. (The NSIDC say, 'A mineral is a naturally occurring homogeneous solid, inorganically formed, with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement.' Go argue with them.)
3. What causes pink snow?
   
   • Algae. (Yep.)
4. What record did 7600 Canadians set in Saskatoon on 31 January 2016?
   
   • The biggest snowball fight in history. (They had nothing better to do in Saskatoon that winter.)
5. What measure did the Syracuse, New York council pass in 1992?
   
   • A law making snow illegal until Christmas Eve. (It snowed, anyway. Scofflaw.)
6. What country holds the record for most snow in one day?
   
   • Italy. (Capracotta, Italy, got 100.8 inches of snow in just 18 hours on 5 March 2015.)
7. What is a snow roller?
   
   • A rare meteorological phenomenon. (See the Edited Guide and the picture at the bottom of this page.)
8. What is graupel?
   
   • Another name for snow pellets. (Also called 'soft hail'.)
9. What is a major difference between thundersnow and an ordinary rainy thunderstorm?
   
   • Snow thunder can't be heard as far away as regular thunder. (The snow muffles the sound.)
10. Which of these winter songs was recorded by The Walkmen?
    
    • While I Shovel the Snow.

Enough about snow. Get that shovel out.

I'd rather roll in clover.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

25.02.19 Front Page

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