You know all those people who boast about bearing the brunt of winters without so much as a sweater? Here's a tale to send shivers down their spine.

On July 21, 1983, Vostok Station, a Russian research station in Antarctica, recorded the world's lowest temperature, -128.6 °F or -89.2 °C. To give you more context, this was 54 degrees colder than the winter average of the place. To this day, it remains the coldest temperature recorded on our planet. How did this phenomenon happen?

A flow of cold air circling the station kept the warm air from the Southern Ocean at bay. Moreover, there was diamond dust in the air that day, meaning tiny ice particles suspended in the air, and sans a heat-trapping cloud cover over the station, the mercury hit rock bottom. This was discovered only later via research by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Russia. Brrrr!

Junk it out
It's National Junk Food Day! Let's pig out on pizza, burgers, what have you and go crazy. But all in moderation, okay? Because tomorrow isn't tummy upset day or stay sick in bed day! Remember the rule when it comes to junk food — savour, not devour.