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A Throwback to the Cool Old Days!

A Throwback to the Cool Old Days!

We're cranking up the time machine to explore the thrilling history of cold exposure.

Lance Marks
July 31, 2023

Hey 👋 TooCool Crew,

Happy Monday all you Glacier Gladiators!

Think cold exposure is a trend only popping up on your TikTok feed these days?

It's time to shatter the ice and bust that myth!

This week, we're going to take a frosty trip down memory lane to explore how the practice of intentionally freezing your butt off has been around for centuries.

Buckle up, we're cranking up the time machine. As our good friend Doc Brown would say, “Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!”

From the bathhouses of ancient Greece to the frigid fjords of the Vikings and the rejuvenating icy baths of the Japanese, the power of cold therapy has been harnessed for generations.

⚡️ Flashback to the 1930s

Our story begins with Danish physician Kristian G. Jeppesen, who discovered that chilly temps were just the prescription his patients needed to alleviate pain and inflammation. He found that cold therapy could also tackle conditions like asthma and chronic fatigue syndrome.

⏩ Forward to the 1950s

German physician Professor Erich Schönau took a deep dive into the icy waters of cryotherapy, establishing it as a revolutionary medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

👨‍🚀 Blast off to the 1960s

Meanwhile, the Soviets were eager to see how the cold would treat their space program. Russian physiologist Gennady Zheleznyakov made history when he took a chilling 30-minute ice bath, documenting significant changes in his heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing.

🥶 On to the 1970s

The Russian love affair with the cold led to advancements in cryonics and cryosurgery.

💀 Cryonics: The sci-fi concept of preserving the body after death, banking on future medical advancements for revival. Just ask Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes how that turned out in the '93 flick, Demolition Man.
👉 Cryosurgery: This nifty medical technique uses extreme cold to obliterate diseased tissue, proving particularly effective in treating skin cancer, liver tumors, and prostate cancer.

👨‍🎤 The 1980s rolled around with:

Big hair
Spandex
Leg warmers
Mullets and
Neon everything

And not one of these had anything to do with cold exposure. Not a single leg warmer was used after a cold exposure session. 🤦‍♀️

💪 Enter the IceMan (Wim hof)

1995 - Wim Hof emerged on the scene and blew us away by swimming under ice for over 80 meters.

2007 - Set a world record for the longest time spent in an ice bath: a whopping 1 hour and 52 minutes. Jaw-dropping, right? 🤯

2011 - Completed a marathon in -35°C (-31°F) temperatures, donning only shorts and shoes.

2012 - Set another record for the fastest marathon run on Antarctica, finishing in just over 5 hours.

Wim Hof may be nicknamed 'Superhuman,' but he's consistently proven that his cold-conquering feats aren't just for the extraordinary. With the right training and an iron will, anyone can learn to endure and even embrace the cold's icy embrace.

So, as we continue to keep it cool, remember, you're part of a chilly tradition that's been around far longer than you!