Dry ice has a history in America dating back to 1925 when Prest Air Devices out of Long Island City, New York made the first CO2 fire extinguisher. Since then this unique property of frozen carbon dioxide has become useful in all sorts of applications. The camper uses dry ice to keep their wet ice cold and avoid a soppy wet ice chest. The hunter may use this 109 below zero product to freeze trophy game. The auto enthusiast can use dry ice to remove dents and dings from their cherry ride. Medical personnel preserve and ship biological samples with dry ice and even use it to remove warts and freckles. And Martha Stewart wannabes (like me) use it to add the perfect touch to their eerie Halloween party!
A popular use of dry ice this time of year is haunted Halloween effects. Our favorite effect at Old Town Newhall Ice is ghostly fog. Producing an air of mystery and fright, low hanging fog is the ultimate special effect at any Halloween bash. To create a foggy room, get out the crock pot add a few cups of hot water and set it to high. Using tongs add a few pieces of dry ice. The hotter the water and the smaller the piece of dry ice the more fog will be produced. You will have to continue adding dry ice as once in water it sublimates quickly. If you don’t have a crock pot any plastic container will work but be prepared to dump out frozen water and add hot water to continue the effect. You can also place the crock pot on your food or decoration table. Since the fog given off by the dry ice is denser then air, the fog will spill over the sides of container and linger low on the table, blanketing the refreshments in a cloud of spooky fog. This effect can be moved outside to transfer your yard into a creepy graveyard. Simply place a pan with hot water behind each tombstone drop in a few dry ice chunks and the area will fill with fog. Remember to always use caution when handling dry ice and please don’t try to taste it!
For more information or to buy dry ice visit Old Town Newhall Ice located at 22502 5th Street in Newhall or www.newhallicecompany.com.