This winter has been - again - one of the coldest, and with most snow in Helsinki. In December I moved back to city center, after a 3 year experiment in the countryside. I am happily free from snow-shoveling and can just observe interesting new phenomena about the town.

People have taken all kinds of nice pictures of items covered with snow, and other abnormal sights. This smiling car is familiar to the readers of Helsingin Sanomat.




One interesting phenomenon from behavior science point of view is how people behave when walkways have been narrowed down to some 30-50 cm wide paths. On some streets, this narrow area is sided from one side with a wall of snow, and the other side by traffic. In parks and other open areas the paths are stomped tight, and if you take a side step you will fall into the soft snow up to your knees. This is a great opportunity to study who is giving way to whom, and who are not giving way to anyone.

One man had had enough of this maneuvering and dug a roundabout around his neighborhood in Herttoniemi.




I also took some pictures of park benches up to their elbows in snow during my walk yesterday and today .

Then there is of course the annual Art Meets Ice ice sculpture competition in Korkeasaari, and may other snow building events.



Image credits announced in links.