J I M W I C h - Mutant Snowflakes

'Tis the season to notice just how many advertising designers don't know that snowflakes are supposed to have six sides! Every year they shower us with blizzards of mutant snowflakes, some with four, seven, or eight sides!

I've created a new winter game - Find The Mutant Snowflakes.

First, in nature not all snowflakes are the same on all sides. Uneven temperatures, presence of dirt, and other factors may cause a snowflake to be lop-sided. But you will never find a symmetrical eight-sided or seven-sided snowflake in nature. This is because a snowflake's shape reflects the internal order of the water molecules. Water molecules in the solid state, such as in ice and snow, form weak bonds (called hydrogen bonds) with one another. These ordered arrangements result in the symmetrical, hexagonal shape of the snowflake. During crystallization, the water molecules align themselves to maximize attractive forces and minimize repulsive forces. Consequently, water molecules arrange themselves in predetermined spaces and in a specific arrangement. Water molecules simply arrange themselves to fit the spaces and maintain symmetry.

M'kay?

Back in the day, unless it was a first-grader's badly folded cutout, you almost never saw a mutant snowflake. But these days, they're everywhere! Yet more proof that our world grows dumber every year.

See how many mutant snowflakes you can find printed on signs, bills, and publications! Play alone or with friends

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Spot a Mutant Snowflake?

Email the URL (if online) or attach a small snapshot of printed images in either .gif or .jpg formats.

Email Submissions to:

jimwich (at) anigami dot com

Find The Mutant Snowflakes

* * * * Winter 2000 - 2001 Gallery * * + *