The Surprising Fact That Humans Can Hear the Difference Between Hot and Cold Water

Science presenter Steve Mould filled in for an episode of Tom Scott‘s series Things You Might Not Know to reveal the surprising fact that humans can hear the difference between and hot cold water while it is being poured. Although it may seem unlikely, the reason is due to the viscosity of fluids changing with temperature.

Hot and cold water sound different when you pour them. When Steve pitched this to me, I didn’t believe it, and then he sent me a couple of sound files, at which point I knew this was going to be the first of the guest videos!