I came across the story of Nick SItzman, and nobody knows if it's true or if it's false, so I am curious.

 

Man dies of hypothermia in unplugged freezer

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/freezer.asp

Edited March 14, 201510 yr by LisaLiel

We often say the thought of something leaves me cold.

 

I must admit the thought of being locked in a freezer is not a warming thought.

 

I wonder when we shudder in expectation of something unpleasant if our body temperature drops?

Who has a fridge that never drops below 50^oF (10^oC)?

Most freezers are pretty nearly airtight; he may well have suffocated.

If you read the Snopes article, it says the autopsy concluded he had frozen to death. None of the messages he left mentioned anything about feeling breathless.

If you read the Snopes article, it says the autopsy concluded he had frozen to death. None of the messages he left mentioned anything about feeling breathless.

If you look at the Snopes article you will see they don't know if it's true or not.

Exactly which is why I want to know if it's true

BTW, the original story comes from a 1988 edition of a book called the people's Speakbook Van Ekeren, Glenn. The Speaker's Sourcebook.

Edited March 16, 201510 yr by LisaLiel

Maybe the fridge was unplugged after his death.

Rates of decomposition of the body would prove that true or false.

Why is this version any more credible than the other versions Snopes mentions?

 

Honestly, if nobody can find where this man worked for the railroad, and corroborate what really happened, then isn't it more likely the whole thing was made up? The source of the quote is from a book on public speaking, offering up anecdotes to spice up any speech.

 

What mechanism would the brain use to make the body freeze?

The same mechanism Lewis Pugh uses to magically warm up his body just by thought alone. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Pugh

And if you read the 1988 original posting of the story, she says at the beginning that the story is true.

Edited March 16, 201510 yr by LisaLiel

The same mechanism Lewis Pugh uses to magically warm up his body just by thought alone.

So, none, other than magic.

 

And if you read the 1988 original posting of the story, she says at the beginning that the story is true.

And that's all we should require of our sources, that they declare themselves to be true?

 

If it was true, it would seem like a big enough story to be included in some medical journals or even a newspaper of the times. The fact that the only mention is in a guide to public speaking tells us this is unlikely to be a real story. And there is no physiological mechanism for a person to freeze themselves to death, with or without thoughts.

The only mechanism I can think of is vasodilation. It turns out that hypoxia, from oxygen depletion, and increase in carbon dioxide in the blood can cause vasodilation. I don't know if it might be feasible for a person to die from reduced core temperature before suffocation occured in a confined space?

 

 

Hypoxia

 

Decreased tissue pO₂ resulting from reduced oxygen supply or increased oxygen demand causes vasodilation. Hypoxia-induced vasodilation may be direct (inadequate O₂ to sustain smooth muscle contraction) or indirect via the production of vasodilator metabolites. Note, however, that hypoxia induces vasoconstriction in the pulmonary circulation (i.e., hypoxic vasoconstriction), which likely involves the formation of reactive oxygen species, endothelin-1 or products of arachidonic acid metabolism.

 

Tissue Metabolites and Ions

 

Carbon dioxide formation increases during states of increased oxidative metabolism. It readily diffuses from parenchymal cells in which it is produced to the vascular smooth muscle of blood vessels where it causes vasodilation. CO₂ plays a significant role in regulating cerebral blood flow.

http://www.cvphysiology.com/Blood%20Flow/BF008.htm

''there is no physiological mechanism for a person to freeze themselves to death, with or without thoughts. ''

 

The nocebo effect is well known and scientists still have no idea how it works.

Body temperature is controlled by the brain.

 

People are known to, in a hypnotised state who dream of being burnt by something, develop burn blisters on their skin.

Edited March 16, 201510 yr by LisaLiel

 

Body temperature is controlled by the brain.

 

 

It is also subject to the laws of thermodynamics.

The brain controls body temperature like a thermostat. The article implied the man thought he was freezing, so his brain was convinced of it, and turned the 'thermostat' down, and the man became hypothermic.

See: Lewis Pugh

Edited March 16, 201510 yr by LisaLiel

The nocebo effect is well known and scientists still have no idea how it works.

Body temperature is controlled by the brain.

Body temperature is controlled within certain parameters. Regulating core temperatures between 98F-100F is not the same as plunging internal temperatures below ambient.

 

People are known to, in a hypnotised state who dream of being burnt by something, develop burn blisters on their skin.

Known to? Because I can't find a decent paper supporting this statement, so I'm glad you'll be able to link us to one.

The brain controls body temperature like a thermostat. The article implied the man thought he was freezing, so his brain was convinced of it, and turned the 'thermostat' down, and the man became hypothermic.

See: Lewis Pugh

That's pretty much the opposite of what the brain does when it's cold.

Why is it that, whenever someone points out that there is no credible mechanism or evidence for this, you just restate it?

 

 

The nocebo effect is well known and scientists still have no idea how it works.

 

Yes they do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocebo#Causes