# Using pee to unfreeze car door? WTF??? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2003, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419 "2003-01-18T04:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/41 "2003-01-22T19:09:55Z")
=“[http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch1999/mar22-99.html](http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch1999/mar22-99.html)”]On jellyfish stings. Don’t pee on them. 🙂 The method for thawing frozen doors under discussion here I’ve not seen used in the Yukon. Mostly because it would make things worse, as the urine would freeze before you got the car open. We do things like using a lighter to heat up the key. Lock deicers are for wussies. If the door itself is frozen shut, we generally give it a good couple of boots, which breaks the ice so we can get in. Generations of practice means that most can avoid denting their doors. 🙂 In extremis, a tiger torch is used. Or a large tarp with a Herman Nelson (basically a propane furnace - never heard it called anything but a Herman Nelson). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/42 "2003-01-22T19:35:44Z")
Herman Nelson, meet John Thomas. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/43 "2003-01-22T19:44:48Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Feynn \* > [BBeing stuck without shelter in this environment (it’s presently -27) is a life threatening situation._\* Well, I’d rather risk my car getting stolen from in the middle of nowhere than risk having to whip it out when it’s 27 below. That’s Fahrenheit, right? -27 C isn’t that cold. And ladies, you’re being a bit discriminatory expecting guys to do all the peeing for you. Wasn’t there a thread a while back on instructions for how ladies can pee standing up? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/44 "2003-01-22T19:47:57Z")
On second thought, maybe not _ladies_… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/45 "2003-01-22T19:54:38Z")
I’d call All State. They say urine good hands with them. ---
**Author:** ![CRorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CRorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CRorex)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/46 "2003-01-22T20:02:28Z")
Psst: Remember urine has a high salt/solute concentration and adding salt/solutes to water lowers the freezing temperature. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/47 "2003-01-23T01:56:02Z")
Feynn: some of us who live in rural areas lock our vehicles because we suspect one of our neighbors is a thief. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/48 "2003-01-23T04:52:31Z")
I’d rather pee on my car than pay for a tow truck. Now, how about urine on sea urchin spines? Any truth to that? I bet this should go in GQ. . . ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/49 "2003-01-23T14:17:03Z")
to add to the seemingly limitless uses of urine - I seem to recall reading it is often used for cleaning soldier’s wounds on battlefields, as urine is so excellently filtered by the kidneys it is sterile. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/50 "2003-01-23T14:28:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capybara \* > \*\*I’d rather pee on my car than pay for a tow truck. > Now, how about urine on sea urchin spines? Any truth to that? > > I bet this should go in GQ. . . \*\* Assuming that I go out and buy some Sea Urchin spines, what effect should I be looking for when I pee on them? ---
**Author:** ![Bomzaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Bomzaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bomzaway)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/51 "2003-03-10T16:18:58Z")
Another WWII urine reference: I saw a documentary in which a veteran of that war said that when confronted with Mustard gas, the best thing to use when you don’t have a gas mask is a rag soaked in urine. ---
**Author:** ![Pez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@Pez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pez)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/52 "2003-03-10T16:19:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*“Pffft” me no "Pffft"s. A true warrior _does_ choose death before dishonor, but taking a **MIGHTY PISS** is certainly a tool of the proper warrior. (Or a good use of a proper warrior’s tool?) > Fenris \*\* Fenris is of course right, pee can be used in combat, but ladies beware, there is an ancient counterstrike. From nordic myth, the Thundergod Thor is fighting the giant Geirrod See: > [@](#): > > Thor reached the river Vimur, greatest of all rivers. […] And when Thor reached the middle of the river, it rose all the way up to his shoulders. […] > > Then Thor saw that in an upstream gorge Geirrod’s daughter Gjalp was straddling the river, causing it to rise. Then Thor took from the river a great rock, threw it at her and said: \*\*“A river be stemmed at its source.” \*\*He did not miss his mark. from [http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/meter/ssprose.html](http://www.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/meter/ssprose.html) ps. fenris, you should check out your namesake there. ---
**Author:** ![Thinks2Much](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Thinks2Much](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinks2Much)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/53 "2003-03-10T16:22:05Z")
Brutus - when the others are referring to jellyfish and sea urchin spines, they mean that if one should have the misfortune of being stung by, or pricked by, such animals, urinating on the WOUND, not the animal, is said to help the wound feel better. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/54 "2003-03-10T16:38:47Z")
Why not just take a big dump on the handle and pat it against the lock like a steaming poultice? Wouldn’t that provide more lasting warmth than some silly little piss? ---
**Author:** ![Squange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Squange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squange)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/55 "2003-03-10T16:49:52Z")
Ah, that “golden cure-all” - urine. There are those that would have us believe that urine can cure everything from cancer [http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto\_5\_3x\_urotherapy.asp?sitearea=eto](http://www.cancer.org/docroot/eto/content/eto_5_3x_urotherapy.asp?sitearea=eto) to financial woes. There are several interesting cases however. Consider if you will the following: Longjohn - you mentioned that urine is sterile enough to be used to clean the wounds of a soldier on the battlefield. I wouldn’t suggest testing this hypothesis. Urine is sterilized of many toxins, but it can contain bacteria and other nasty microorganismas that will eventually make the effected area all rotten and icky. Look back to the medical records of wars of the past…once decent MASH units were set up (I mean more than the Civil War standard of a bottle of bourbon and a bone saw) antibacterials were common enough to clean wound without the need to grant your fellow privates a gift from your privates… If you look earlier than this, you tend to see a lot more deaths from blood loss after radical amputation, and everyoned favorite green and black buddy: gangrene! Now, I won’t go so far as to say that soldiers never used urine to clean a wound, but even in WWII, soldiers were issued sulfur packets for just such a purpose. It is possible to recycle _your own_ urine, as the bacteria in your urine is already in your body and you already have antibodies for said bacteria. So, if you’re ever alone in the bush and wounded, and you’ve run out of conventional medicine…and you either lack the knowledge of herbal medicine or can’t get the herbs, then by all means, work up a good pee and let 'er rip. I guess, if you’re shot in the jungle and you’re all alone, becoming ill because of the bacteria in pee is not really on the top list of concerns. It is possible (however gross you may find this) to drink your own urine _for a short time_ in the event that you are stranded without water. Everyone knows that without water, a person will die of thirst in about 3 days. I remember reading somewhere (don’t quote me on this - if anyone has more specific info I’d love to know) that a human can survive exclusively on their own urine for three cycles befor the body’s natural filtration process sucks out all the water and the urine becomes a toxin. So if you started walking through the desert and drank a big ol’ jug of water before you left, then filled that jug back up with pee throughout the day, you could walk for 3 days without having to take a drink from the jug (gross - no pun intended - oversimplification, I’ve left out all those pesky things like heatstroke, exposure, and exhaustion) at which point you could drink from the jug until it was empty and then recycle it 2 more times before the urea and acids in the urine became poisonous to you. Theoretically, assuming you take proper precautions from the elements and other hazards, you could get pretty far with this method. Like I said before, a little gross, but hey drinking my own piss or taking the dirt nap…I’ll have a big glass of piss please. On the lighter side, a somewhat suspect tale I heard in the beautiful island nations of Trinidad and Tobago: I had spent the afternoon on a glass bottom boat with an interesting individual that everyone kept calling “BrokenGlass”. This was on account of his voice sounding like he had swallowed several large chunks of, you guessed it, broken glass. Now, BrokenGlass was a bit of a pirate from England who spent six weeks out of the year kickin’ it in the Carribbean on his boat. We had all gotten a bit loaded on the glass bottom boat ride and were swapping war stories of the sea. Moray bites, barracuda schools, and shark attacks went by and then BrokenGlass told us this one. It seems that these two rather attractive, blonde tourists had been frolicking in the surf on Pigeon Point in Tobago when one of them sat down in the water. Well, you can probably see where this is going… she sat right on an ocean egg - also known as the lovable and not so cuddly sea urchin. As you can imagine, she jumped right up and in more than a bit of discomfort, she hobbled to the shore. Here comes the good part. BrokenGlass happened to be there that day and he told the two ladies that there is a cure they can try. Take a cup, put a little sand in it (unlike the sand here in the northeast, there is no medical waste in theirs, so this is a bit safer to do down there), pee in the cup, and then rub the concoction on the -ahem- inflamed area. See, the sand will help scrub out any bits of the urchin spines that were left in the wound (they break off like bee stings), which if left behind could cause infection, and the urine will clean the wound. Well, the girls were a bit grossed out but they tried it after a bit of convincing. Anyway, the girl who had been stung was still in a bit of pain, and word started to circulate around the beach that she has sat on an urchin. Not being they types to pass up an opportunity, many of the local men told the young lady that the only way to get out urchin spines is to suck them out. Soon, there was a line of young Tobagonian men queued up to “suck the sea urchin spines” out of this woman’s rear. BrokenGlass let them get about halfway through the line before he started telling them about the first cure the women used. Needless to say, after they washed their tongues, several of the men never tried that particular scam again. Oh, and one thing urine CAN do (I know from personal experience) is cure athelete’s foot. The fire fighters at my friend’s firehouse swear by this method. When you have the beginning stages of athelete’s foot (you want to stop it before the skin starts cracking and sores develop) pee on your feet every time you take a shower. The acid in the urine will kill the fungus that causes the rash. Nasty? Maybe. But if you wear heavy rubber boots to work every day and they are always getting water in them, you can either do this or spend your entire paycheck on Tinactin. Or maybe it’s just that some of New York’s Bravest are a little crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Mook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Mr.Mook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Mook)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/56 "2003-03-10T16:49:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capybara \* > \*\*Now, how about urine on sea urchin spines? Any truth to that? > \*\* ``` Oh they hate that...;) ``` ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/57 "2003-03-10T20:01:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squange \* > **On the lighter side, a somewhat suspect tale I heard in the beautiful island nations of Trinidad and Tobago** [Hijack] Yes, beautiful indeed. At least Tobago (never been to Trinidad). I had my honeymoon there. Although, driving on the left side of the road was a little odd, especially since I didn’t have insurance on the rental car, because I had to be 25 to even (legally) be rented to. Since I couldn’t be legally rented to, I couldn’t have insurance. There such trusting folks over there. I’m just glad I didn’t get in any accidents, because that would make for an interesting legal situation. But back to being on-topic of my off-topic post, it was indeed a very beautiful place. And the local food was pretty good, better than the stuff at the resort. (But then again, this is the same resort that made a dish of shrimp and rice and some other stuff similar to jumbalaya but neglected to actually remove the shells from the shrimp before doing so. I learned after that day to always inspect my food before eating it. That first bite was rather crunchy.) [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/58 "2003-03-10T20:03:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squange \* > **Oh, and one thing urine CAN do (I know from personal experience) is cure athelete’s foot.** [http://www.thespark.com/science/stinkyfeet/](http://www.thespark.com/science/stinkyfeet/) ---
**Author:** ![Squange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Squange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squange)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/59 "2003-03-10T20:39:55Z")
Yay! The Spark Science section!!! I love the Stinky projects (StinkyMeat is one of the funniest things I have ever had the pleasure of reading). A bit off topic, another wonderful site (although it’s been down for maintainence recently) is: [http://www.bad-candy.com](http://www.bad-candy.com) Definitely worth checking out. We now return you to the regularly scheduled talk of urine. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/60 "2003-03-11T03:54:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > \*\*I can just picture the scene: > > Me, standing next to my car with my trouser snake out, pissing all over my car door. > > Cop comes over and says “What the hell are you doing?” > > Me: “Un-freezing the lock, officer. Honest.” > > Let’s face it: any warm liquid would do the trick, it just so happens that we have a handy supply of it in our bladders. > > Now, seeing a woman trying to use the same method WOULD be interesting! \*\* * * * Say no more! [http://www.restrooms.org/standing.html](http://www.restrooms.org/standing.html) 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419.md?page=4)