WELCOME TO THE VILLAGE of OYMYAKON IN RUSSIA.
Oymyakon is the WORLD’s COLDEST PERMANENTLY INHABITED SETTLEMENT IN THE WORLD. With a population of about 500. Oymyakon means water that does not freeze and which contains fish.
The average temperature for January is minus 50 degrees Celsius (-50•c).Source of warmth is coal,wood,thermal spring near by.
*Research/info by Daisuke Nishimura/correspondence
Nothing like agriculture; except for reindeer and horses. Economy - hunting and fishing.
Birds in Oymyakon sometimes freeze to death in mid flight.
Pens don’t work - the ink freezes
Mobile phones? forget it! Even if there was coverage for mobile reception, the phones themselves would not work in such cold conditions.
Transportation - just don’t turn your engine off, or it might not return.They leave their car running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.
Instead of a water pipe that will freeze and become useless, [they have wells with warm water that does not freeze even in winter] , , ,trucks collect water from those wells and deliver it to each household.Households that have run out of water supply place a red cloth on their gates
and a water truck will stop and deliver.
Does tears freeze? strangely it doesn’t!
Swing a damp towel in the air, it freezes.
Residents build/construct simply outhouses several dozen meters from their home. It takes a great amount of will power to use them at night, when temperature falls below minus 50 degrees (-50•c) and one has to make a long walk in the dark.
Urinating is an unusual experience because exposure to the cold leads to a slight pain at the tip of the penis.The steam from the urine instantly freeze, producing something like daimond dust, tiny ice crystal that sparkle from the reflection of sunlight.
No smell remains in the outhouse because the urine and stools freeze so quickly.
The greatest challenge in Oymyakon is burying the dead. That means figuring out a way to bury the dead when the earth under foot is frozen solid as hard as steel.
The challenge of burying the dead is worse in winter. Hot coals is placed on the ground for several hours,to soften it before it can be slowly dug-up. It can take up to three (3) days of continuous shoveling to dig a grave
Interestingly, fishes thrive in Oymyakon river but freeze(s) when caught.
The interior of a Oymyakon home can be comfortable, thanks to the heating and the triple panned windows
Why is Oymyakon river unfreezable @ -50•c?
Why does the fishes survive in temperatures of -50•c to -70•c?
Why is the well water warm?
Why does tears not freeze?
Why are humans in Oymyakon not frozen?
Wonders!