November 1st, 2010 by Shaun Day

So November is here and I think I might have to finally accept it’s winter, most people I know would probably have claimed it was winter several weeks ago, but I’m lucky, I don’t really feel the cold. Sat at the computer today though I can defiantly feel the chill beginning to creep into my toes, it’s usually my toes that feel it first. My Grandma would always tell me to put on a hat; it’s a solution I’ve been offered many times, I’m always hearing “heads lose more body heat than any thing else” or “wearing a hat will make you much warmer.” I’ve tried it of course, you don’t say “No” to Grandma but I can’t say I’ve ever felt much benefit, honestly I’m not a ‘hat person’ they just make me look and feel silly. So I’ve always been sceptical, is there something scientific backing up these hat claims? Could my vanity be subconsciously masking the benefits from me? Or are we all victims of an evilly genius Granny lead marketing campaign designed to have the worlds Grandchildren all uniformed in there brightly coloured, slightly misshapen home knitted bobble hats that we are all given by our loving Grandmothers each Christmas? With slightly nippy toes my distraction from work today has been to find out the truth behind these claims, Should I don last Christmas’ woolly hat? (It’s a very fetching green and blue number) or is there a better solution? The first thing I discovered was that these claims weren’t the invention of my Grandmother, but are first cited in the 1970 US army survival manual where it was apparently claimed that “40 – 45 % of all body heat is lost from the head,” so we can perhaps dismiss the evil genius granny marketing idea, (well unless they’re pulling strings in the army, in which case I can’t wait to see the khaki version of my Christmas ’07 ‘triple bobble’ bobble hat and mittens that army Grandmas must be creating!) Other research I found, such as that by the Wildness medicine society suggests that the scalp may lose slightly more heat than the rest of the body during hypothermia if the patient is shivering but I don’t think my chilly feet put me at any risk of that just yet, so I continued searching and eventually found a 2008 article by Ian Sample, the Guardian’s science correspondent. According to him the 1970’s Army manual isn’t actually based on any facts, and the latest research suggests that all parts of the body loose heat equally, the myth is just a result of the fact that a lot of people’s faces are sensitive to the cold. For these people a hat might be a good idea, and on a cold day of course you should cover up as much as possible, but when it’s just my feet that are cold I’m best off sticking to conventional wisdom and taking of the cold parts. Namely my feet. (Sorry Grandma) I guess I’m not the only person who has come to this conclusion. As far away as China people are looking for alternatives to the Grandma Fashion industry. In 2002 inventor Guo Yongqiiang was inspired to experiment with a particularly high tech solution, the electronically heated shoe. The idea was simple enough, battery powered footwear that you can walk around in or wear to work, but when the weather turns cold, flick a switch and with in minutes your feet will be toasty and warm. Unfortunately we’re not likely to sees these in the shops any time soon. Yongqiiang made the headlines that year, not for the brilliance of his foot wear but because of his failed attempt to seek American investment. On a flight from San Francisco to New York airport security checks mistakenly thought the unfamiliar battery in the shoe was an explosive device. Further checks of course revealed that they were harmless but being so soon after the December 2001 attempted shoe bombing by Richard Reid the decision was made to destroy the shoes anyway, the prototype shoes were taken out onto a runway and destroyed in a controlled explosion. Yongqiiang was allowed to continue his journey but without the shoes he struggled to find investment and as a result I’m not wearing them right now. So what solution have I decided to go for? Well inspired by the idea of electronically heated shoes I’ve found something similar. Electric Foot warmers are based on the same technology electric blankets use, you can slip your feet into them when they are feeling a bit cold, and although I can’t really wear them out and about, additional features like a built in massage device should hopefully make up for that. We may now all have to admit its winter, but let’s be honest, who doesn’t love being cuddled up indoors under the blankets (and now my electric foot warmer) drinking hot chocolate (Grandma’s recipe.. she’s not all bad!) on a cold winter evening. I think I like that better than summer actually.