# Is it true I shouldn't put a paper bag in the refrigerator because it will create a pocket of warm a

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-i-shouldnt-put-a-paper-bag-in-the-refrigerator-because-it-will-create-a-pocket-of-warm-a/754553>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 11, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-i-shouldnt-put-a-paper-bag-in-the-refrigerator-because-it-will-create-a-pocket-of-warm-a/754553 "2016-05-11T15:38:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-i-shouldnt-put-a-paper-bag-in-the-refrigerator-because-it-will-create-a-pocket-of-warm-a/754553/41 "2016-05-14T01:37:37Z")

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> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> Bread in the fridge doesn’t get stale because the fridge is so dry, it gets stale because the fridge is moist, and moisture causes staleness. The same bread left on the counter will get stale more slowly, because it is drier.

This is only true of freshly baked bread. Ordinary, supermarket-style sliced loafs like Wonderbread last far longer when refrigerated.

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**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-i-shouldnt-put-a-paper-bag-in-the-refrigerator-because-it-will-create-a-pocket-of-warm-a/754553/42 "2016-05-14T04:42:41Z")

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> [@Nefario](#):
>
> !st Law of Thermodynamics - You can’t win. 🙂  
> 2nd Law of Thermodynamics - You can’t even break even!! 😃

3rd Law of Thermodynamics - You can’t even quit the game.

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**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-i-shouldnt-put-a-paper-bag-in-the-refrigerator-because-it-will-create-a-pocket-of-warm-a/754553/43 "2016-05-14T09:30:06Z")

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> [@DrCube](#):
>
> No, it will always cool faster in the fridge than on the stove, even the inside. The reason to cool large hot dishes before refrigerating them is so that you don’t warm up the other, smaller items in the refrigerator too much.

I haven’t measured your fridge, so I don’t know. But a refrigerator is an insulated box, and the only way of getting heat out of it is with the heat pump, and that has a limited capacity.

If you put something hot into a refrigerator, it will get cool more slowly than outside, if the small heat pump can’t remove heat faster than it would be removed by conduction/convection/evaporation outside the refrigerator.

A refrigerator is designed to make things cold. There is no way that a hot dish left in the room will ever get cold. It stays at room temperature. But the rate of change from hot to room temperature depends on (1) The thermal mass of all the other things in the fridge, and (2) How fast the heat pump can pump heat. Neither of these things are “always”

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