Why Is Ice Slippery? | QI

This clip is from QI XL Series Q, Episode 9, 'Quizmsas' with Sandi Toksvig, Alan Davies, Sara Pascoe, Johnny Vegas and Josh Widdicombe.

[canoli]

Johnny’s answer is what happens when you sleep through the lecture and only wake up for the quiz at the end of class!

[mediapark]

I was taught that the pressure thing was how bladed ice skates worked as their small surface area increased the pressure applied by the weight of a human body especially when channelled through one skate.

[juliannechan]

Now every time I see Alan, I can't think of anything except the Wow Monster!

[internationalrtg]

Sandi is like a fun aunt. She’s just awesome alongside Alan

[Chuckf]

Now I want to see an elephant wearing high heels, but only on its back legs. I'm not some weirdo.

[stevesingkofer]

Are those individual molecules ice? Or water? If they're moving around, surely friction is involved and they've returned to a liquid state. Therefore, "when you put your foot on it, it melts a bit." Thanks, Johnny!

[cliffjamesmusic]

If the molecules are free to move, albeit not totally as with a gas, you may find that you have defined a liquid. The molecules have moved from a solid to a liquid state i.e., melting has taken place, albeit by pressure rather than heat. Alan is right? No, that can’t be right.

[JustAskingForAFriendOfAFriend]

That should be a t-shirt!
"Do you want to make it sexy or is it an experiment?"

[AverageGamerGuyPlays]

I don’t think enough people talk about just how utterly stunning Sara Pascoe is.

[minxythemerciless]

It's not hard to melt ice with pressure. A classic schoolboy experiment is to rest a copper wire across a block of ice and attach weights at both ends. The wire cuts through the block by pressure melting on the wire bottom and refreezing on the top. It's pretty slow though.

[abbu.robinson]

I like this video ending much more than Sandi being patronizing and demanding we watch more

[RebornAvenge]

When Allen made the joke about the Ice looking like mice, you could say it looks The Three Bind Mice

[NewMessage]

Because it has something to hide....

* narrows eyes *

[DavidRexGlenn]

Even with the Closed Captioning turned on I have no idea what Johnny is saying

[robleary]

Over the years watching this show I managed to garner a lot of trivia facts and 'win' a lot of pints of beer with mates making statements akin to the answers to some of the questions posed on this show!. It usually ended with 'I bet you a pint I'm right!' Good old Google proved me right nearly 🤣

[hoagy_ytfc]

"Do you wanna make it sexy, or is it an experiment?" I love Johnny Vegas. Ideal was one of my all-time favourite TV shows.

[ModeratelyAmused]

Ah but if ice is just water in solid form and stepping on it makes the top layer become individual molecules, can those singular molecules being considered a solid meaning are they still considered ice? I know it's not scientific but it's still a better theoretical question than "is water wet."

[Kevinrothwell]

Elephants in high heels is okay, it's when they put on lipstick and mascara that you need to get worried.

[DJVLDN]

I wasn’t taught that it was pressure, I was told it was temperature, that the soles of your shoes are warmer than the ice you’re walking on and that’s what melts the thin layer that makes it slippery.

[zingzangspillip]

Sarah Pascoe looks amazing in that dress!