# Why are there stalagtites in my ice cube tray? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622 "2011-05-12T04:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/1 "2011-05-12T04:23:24Z")
I assume they are stalagtites and not stalagmites. They originate from the ice cube tray and go up, maybe an inch. I can grab they ice cube and lift it from try by them. What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/2 "2011-05-12T04:26:49Z")
is it ice or mineral? If it’s organic, burn the trays and buy new ones. They’re toxic at that point. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/3 "2011-05-12T04:27:55Z")
water’s dripping from the top onto your tray. it’s still an ice stalagmite. ---
**Author:** ![Hambil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hambil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hambil)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/4 "2011-05-12T04:29:23Z")
I may be wrong (it happens) but I think you are seeing the results of filling an icecube tray with hot water instead of cold. Steam rises, freezes, falls, as the water is cooled by the freezer. If you took at microscope to any icecube you’d see a rough not smooth surface. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/5 "2011-05-12T04:31:12Z")
Stalagmites. Stalactites grow down from a ceiling. Stalagmites grow up from the floor, although the term is probably not really right if they aren’t formed by drips from the ceiling. Ice cube tray “ice spikes” Explanation here: [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/icespikes/icespikes.htm](http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/icespikes/icespikes.htm) Your water must be fairly pure, as those directions say to use distilled water. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/6 "2011-05-12T04:48:47Z")
I’ve always called them “ice spikes”. I haven’t checked yabob’s link, but basically they form kinda like mini-volcanos. The ice cube freezes at the top first, from the outside edges in, and under the right conditions you can be left with a tiny hole somewhere in the middle that isn’t frozen yet. Ice takes up more volume than water since it forms crystals as it freezes. The expanding ice forces the remaining water up through the hole, where the outside of the bulge of water freezes. The inside remains liquid and continues to push upward. This continues, forming a longer and longer spike until either the end of the spike freezes over or the ice cube runs out of water to push up through the spike due to it all freezing. There’s a video of one forming here: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7hgf7mY1XjU/hqdefault.jpg "Time lapse movie of growing ice spike") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgf7mY1XjU) Distilled water works best, since any impurities in the water can act as nucleation sites and make the hole freeze up before the ice spike forms. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/7 "2011-05-12T11:46:49Z")
I’ve been keeping track. Search this message board and you will be surprised about how often it comes up. This and pivot irrigation circles ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/8 "2011-05-12T14:24:48Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > … Stalactites grow down from a ceiling. Stalagmites grow up from the floor … 'tites from the top, 'mites like mountains. CMC fnord! It’s so nice that there’s a place where all the otherwise useless shit in my head is actually useful! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/9 "2011-05-12T15:28:01Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > 'tites from the top, 'mites like mountains. > > CMC fnord! > It’s so nice that there’s a place where all the otherwise useless shit in my head is actually useful! Interesting mnemonic, I was always taught stala **G** mites = **G** round, stala **C** tites = **C** eiling. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/10 "2011-05-12T15:31:05Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Distilled water works best, since any impurities in the water can act as nucleation sites and make the hole freeze up before the ice spike forms. I get them using NYC tap water. Not every time, but frequently. Always wondered… ignorance fought ! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/11 "2011-05-12T15:40:48Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Interesting mnemonic, I was always taught stala **G** mites = **G** round, stala **C** tites = **C** eiling. Stalag **m** ites, because they are mighty and grow up from the ground. In a cave does every stalagmite have a corresponding stalactite? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/12 "2011-05-12T15:45:55Z")
“Stalagmites **might** hang from the ceiling…but they don’t.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/13 "2011-05-12T16:13:12Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I’ve been keeping track. Search this message board and you will be surprised about how often it comes up. You’re right. [Multiple](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=315493) [threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448910). Another [one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591280). ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/14 "2011-05-12T16:43:06Z")
Those are my cheap-ass method of telling if my tap water is pure enough to give to my fish! If I get spikes, then I don’t have to use distilled water for the fishy. No spikes means I have to let the water aerate and then sit for a day before I use it on him. I also like them because they make nice handles for getting icecubes out of the trays. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/15 "2011-05-12T16:48:10Z")
“Stalac **T** ites hang **T** ight from the ceiling, stalag **M** ites **M** ight reach them someday.” I remember that mnemonic from the guide on a school trip to a cave and it still helps me keep it straight even though its not a very good one, as only the first part is really specific to stalactites, the 2nd part could apply to either. 🙂 Lousy cave guide. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/16 "2011-05-12T16:55:06Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Those are my cheap-ass method of telling if my tap water is pure enough to give to my fish! > > If I get spikes, then I don’t have to use distilled water for the fishy. No spikes means I have to let the water aerate and then sit for a day before I use it on him. I certainly hope you warm them up before plopping them into the fish tank. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/17 "2011-05-12T16:56:54Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > “Stalac **T** ites hang **T** ight from the ceiling, stalag **M** ites **M** ight reach them someday.” Yup - with an emphasis on the “StalacTITES hold on TIGHT”. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/18 "2011-05-12T17:00:03Z")
The mnemonic that I use is that it’s like ants in your pants: the mites go up and the tights go down. ---
**Author:** ![wbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/439d5e/32.png) [@wbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wbeaty)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/19 "2011-05-13T05:29:28Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > [Ice Spikes](http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/icespikes/icespikes.htm) I’ve seen these more than once after a power failure, when the freezer chills down quite slowly. Or perhaps the cube tray freezes from the bottom, with the air above being a bit warm. Normally the air would be extremely cold, and the water would quickly “ice over” into a thick layer with no hole. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622/20 "2011-05-13T05:45:55Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > In a cave does every stalagmite have a corresponding stalactite? not always. if there was, they would eventually meet to form a floor-to-ceiling column. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-stalagtites-in-my-ice-cube-tray/581622.md?page=2)