Yahoo! Answers

**Secret Revealed**

Winter hat, stocking cap, beanie or toque; whatever you call it, it keeps your head warm. But, it doesn’t necessarily keep you warm.

An old US Army survival manual suggested wearing a hat since “40 to 45 percent of body heat” is lost through your head. This recommendation is thought to have come from a military experiment over 60 years ago when participants were dressed from neck to toe in Arctic clothing, but no headwear. Over time, this has snowballed into “most” heat is lost through our heads.

Where you lose heat comes down to what is exposed or poorly insulated. If you’ve worn shorts on a day that was way too cold to wear shorts, you know how quickly you can get cold when half your body is exposed. I know I could last longer on a cold day without a hat than wearing shorts.

Some areas of your body are more sensitive to temperature changes, including your head, face and chest. Protecting these areas will make a big difference in comfort even though it may not have as big an impact on actual heat loss compared to properly insulating all other areas of your body.

New studies in body performance show that less than 20 – 30% of heat loss is from the head, depending on environmental temperature. In extreme cold, this 20 – 30% could make a significant difference, so don’t skip the hat.

Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.

Thanks for reading,

Sources: healthline.com, guardian.co.uk, bmj

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**Secret Revealed**

The claw game (aka “crane games” or “fairground grabbers”) are pretty straight forward in appearance: put in your money, position the crane over a prize, drop the claw and hope your aim was good enough to bring home the prize.

But, winning a prize requires a lot more than skill. These machines are like slot machines, except children are allowed to play. Just like a slot machine, the operator can dial in how often the machine should pay out.

The crane game machine reduces the claw strength when the player is supposed to lose and increases its grip strength when the player is allowed to win. In that sense, they’re worse than slots because the player still requires some skill when the odds are in their favor.

The odds of the machine giving the claw enough strength to win a prize is regulated by some states and therefore varies. In California, the claw must have enough strength to win during an average of 1 in 12 games. In Nevada, it’s 1 in 15 games. In other words, during 1 in 15 games the claw will be strong enough to pickup a prize, but you still have to aim it well.

The following is an excerpt from a crane machine’s operating manual, indicating how two different knobs can be turned to adjust the claw strength in different ways.

If you really want to win, your best bet is to sit back and watch other people play. Count the wins and losses and put up your money when it’s due to grip again.

Alternatively, much older (less sophisticated) claw machines rely on spring tension and may be easier to beat if they’re calibrated with a decent grip. Also, be sure you aim the claw at the heaviest part of the prize, if the grip is tight this will make it easier for the claw to hang on.

Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.

Thanks for reading,
Sources: philaahzophy, crane game user manual, wiki how

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