Man, it's cold outside. How cold is it? So cold I went off in search of cold weather info, and just look at what I found (courtesy of ABC-15 in Phoenix):

You may have heard that pouring hot water on your car's windshield will get the ice and snow off. It might give you another problem instead.

According to beaumontenterprise.com , if there's already a crack in your windshield, this drastic temperature change will just crack it more. They recommend keeping an ice scraper handy instead.

How about a running faucet to keep your pipes from freezing?

Beaumontenterprise.com said running the faucet is actually just a waste of water. It can lead to pressure building up, which can cause pipes to burst.

Okay, what about sandbags in the trunk to give you better traction?

According to popularmechanics.com , it makes sense if you have rear-wheel drive, but most cars today don't need it, and extra weight can even make it more challenging to steer and throw the vehicle off balance.

Speaking of cars, how about warming up the car before driving in severely cold weather?

According to msn.com , most engines now actually warm up more quickly when they're driven. 

Finally, with apologies to long-married women everywhere...can you catch a cold because of cold weather?

It's an old wives ' tale, and it turns out it's false. Colds are caused by viruses or bacteria, not cold weather.

If you're not too busy shivering, more on cold weather myths and truths can be found here. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on brass monkeys.

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