# 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:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bjohn13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@bjohn13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bjohn13)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/61 "2003-03-11T04:22:18Z")
The topic has been touched on, but not really outlined. Yes, if someone lives in a climate where 20 degrees F is considered cold, then urine would make an"acceptable" solution for a frozen door (I say door because, around here, a frozen door is much more common than a frozen lock). The fact that urine is a solution means that it does freeze at a slightly lower temperature than pure water. However, there are parts where -20 can be considered a nice day in January if the sun is shining and the wind is calm. I must offer a very strict warning against using this method if anyone lives in an area of such extreme. It is actually common knowledge around here: nothing warm to de-ice my locks. Even the salt-level in urine won’t keep it from freezing. Once upon a time when the mercury had dipped to -47, I actually had the misfortune of having to pee outside. I watched my urine gather like a stalagmite on the ground. Yes, urine does freeze. And, yes, it will freeze before a person’s hand has time to put the key in the lock. Thank God for that, too, because otherwise the key would freeze in the lock. ---
**Author:** ![stroch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@stroch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stroch)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/62 "2003-03-11T18:20:23Z")
Pee in a canteen can be used as a “hot water” bottle in a sleeping bag in a survival situtaion. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Durocher\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Bruce\_Durocher\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Durocher_II)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/63 "2003-03-11T19:23:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brutus \* > \*\*How the fuck does peeing on a jellyfish alleviate the irritation? So much for fighting ignorance! :mad: \*\* I gather you’ve never bothered to read up on the topic. In"The Ra Expeditions" by Thor Heyerdahl, you will find a description of how a member of the expedition was saved from dying of stings from a Man-O-War or jellyfish (I cannot remember which, sorry) by the ship’s doctor ordering rapid application of uric acid to the affected area, i.e. they peed on the stings. I believe uric acid was the credited agent rather than vinegar, but it’s been awhile since I read the book and the sites I’ve just checked on the web are confusing as to what liquids should be use. Any oceanographers or toxicologists out there? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Durocher\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@Bruce\_Durocher\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Durocher_II)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419/64 "2003-03-12T01:29:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce Durocher II \* > \*\* I believe uric acid was the credited agent rather than vinegar \*\* Sorry–brain spasm. I meant to say ammonia rather than vinegar… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-pee-to-unfreeze-car-door-wtf/149419.md?page=3)