Snowman Facts That Will Make You Want To Build Your Own One Now!

A snowman is a figure made of snow that people love to make when they look out the window and see that it has snowed.

There are even snowmen competitions throughout the world where people try to build the most extravagant snowman. These events are more common around Christmas or in places where there is snow!

Snowmen are a common Christmas and winter decor motif and commonly found on greeting cards, as well in bedtime stories. Several snowman figures, such as Olaf from 'Frozen' and Frosty from 'Frosty The Snowman' (1969) have helped to boost the popularity of these snow creations. The world record for the most snowmen to built in an hour was made in Japan when 1,406 people built 2,036 snowmen in just an hour.

Who holds the world record for building the tallest snowman? Continue reading to find out!

History Of Snowmen

The history of snowmen goes a long way back. Finding the exact date when a snowman was first discovered is not easy. However, from the 'Book Of Hours' written by Bob Eckstein, it is believed that the first representation of a snowman was in the 1380s.

The book gives a vague depiction of a snowman. Following the orders of a king called Piero the Unfortunate, the artist made a snowman in the Medici Courtyard. Today, a snowman is simply a holiday mascot for people and something fun to make with friends and family and does not hold any political values. However, it was not like this in the past. The people of Brussels were extremely unhappy with the government in 1511. It was because the people were poor, hungry and dealing with The Winter Of Death, a period during which the temperatures dropped drastically. This lasted months, and the people were angry about the government's poor handling of the situation. In an effort to cheer people up and help them forget about the government's shortcomings, the government sponsored a snowman festival. Ambitious snow painters blanketed the city with snow sculptures. The government did not object because they hoped that people would forget about their incompetence in the spring. Snowmen were also an important part of folk art. In the Middle Ages, when people did not have the freedom to be expressive, building snowmen was a way to develope their skills.

Did you know? Boogg is a cotton snowman created by Australians to celebrate spring. They place a cotton snowman on scrap wood and they blow it when the bells in the Church of St. Peter chime six times.

How do you build a snowman?

Building a snowman is equally exciting for kids as well as adults. While building a snowman is fun, it also puts your muscles to work!

It is widely believed that typical snowmen have three large snowballs of varying sizes and facial features that are decorated using a carrot nose or button nose, a corncob pipe, an old silk hat also known as a top hat, sticks, and a scarf.

Before you even begin starting to build a snowman, you have to decide what type of snow has fallen. There are several sorts of snow, and not all of them are suitable for building a snowman. Wet snow mixed together with powdered snow is the best choice for making a perfect snowman. The next step is to find the best location where as many people can see your creation. Select a spot that is both well-shaded and flat. A snowman will not melt as a result of this.

Start by rolling three balls and roll the snowballs in all directions to get a perfect globe shape. The one at the bottom should be the largest to keep your snowman from falling over. The size of the middle and upper snowballs should be smaller than the size of the bottom ball. This helps to keep your snowman balanced. Scrape some snow into the center ball before placing the top ball to make sure that the head sits securely. For the snowman's nose, you can use a long carrot. Charcoal is traditionally used for a snowman's eyes and mouth. Crooked branches are the best materials for their arms. Do not forget the scarf and hat! You can also use other materials to bring your snowman to life, but this is the traditional way of making a snowman.

Who built the biggest snowman?

Robin Zinchuk holds the current world record for building the biggest snowman or snow woman. The snow woman measured 122 ft 1 in (37.21 m) and was named Olympia as the snow woman was just 1 ft (0.3 m) shorter than the Statue of Liberty.

Olympia was built by Bethel (Maine) residents over the course of a month. On February 26, 2008, Olympia was completed with the help of people from surrounding towns. Over 13 million lb (59 million kg) of snow were used to create this snowman! They also used different materials to create her facial characteristics. Her nose was about 8 ft (2.4 m) long and constructed of colorful cheesecloth and chicken wire. It took eight pairs of skids to create her 48 ft (14.6 m) wide eyelashes. The lips were made from five red car tyres, while the arms were made from 30 ft (9.1 m) spruce trees. A 130 ft (39.6 m) long scarf and a 6.6 ft (2.1 m) long snowflake necklace were also added. People were astounded by the inventiveness of the creators. As a final touch, three 5 ft ( 1.5 m) wide truck tyres were used as buttons.

Who built the smallest snowman?

Todd Simpson holds the record for building the world's smallest snowman. The tiny snowman was measured at the Western University Facility in Ontario, Canada on December 16, 2016. This snowman is so tiny that you would barely be able to see it without a microscope.

Todd created the smallest snowman using a scanning electron microscope, a device used to produce images by scanning a surface with a beam. He accidentally created the structure of a snowman when he put a silica sphere solution over a polymer film that was pockmarked with nanoscale pores. A dime piled on top of another silica sphere. This looked like a three ball snowman, however, it lacked arms and face back in 2005. In 2016, Todd went back to this old sample. Since it looked like a snowman, he used the beam from the scanning electron microscope to make the eyes and lips of the snowman. While using the ion beam, it deposited platinum. As a result, the snowman grew arms and nose.