Winter is nearly over (in the Northern hemisphere), but the nights are still cold.
According to Wikipedia, hot water bottles are popular in "developing countries" and "the United Kingdom," though apparently they are rising stars in Japan as well.
Speaking personally, my hot water bottle is, quite simply, a necessity for at least four months of the year. However, I have noticed a great variety of attitudes to hot water bottles, and names that people give them.
Some people don't even use hot water bottles! This is a great shame; they are missing out on a lovely bedtime treat.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.
I picked the last option, even though I don't share my bed with a 'real live person'.
I do, however, share my bed (with a thicker quilt for winter) with a Dog and a very large Cat.
Even though I am indeed English, I am very much ashamed to say that I have never used a hot water bottle. Feel free to stone me for blasphemy.
I think dogs and cats count as a real live person. They certainly produce a good level of heat.
leXX: never? Not even as a child? :~ What about your own children?
For anyone who hasn't tried a hot water bottle, find one, fill it with boiling water, and secrete it under your covers tonight -- you'll never look back!
In my country, we can't afford hot water bottles.
Then again, we can't even afford water.
I'm one of those weird people who owns a blanket. 5 minutes of sheet coolness followed by a whole night of warmth. Crazy huh?
I thought hot water bottles were only used by the very old. I remember my great-aunt having one, but she was like 90.
Of course on the Texas Gulf Coast it doesn’t get that cold. We have a large warm water bottle a few miles away called the Gulf of Mexico.
wtf is a hot water bottle?
Two words: down comforter.
Last option.
Being married comes with benefits!
I have used hot water bottles for quite a few years when i was a kid. I just called it my hot water bottle.
After using it to warm my back, i'd always stick it down at my feet. (man, the neck used to get magma hot.. could really singe you if you're not careful). It was always quite cold by morning, but i always kicked it away in my sleep.
Nowadays, i relinquish any moisture in my body and irradiate myself with an electric blanket. i call it: my electric blanket.
I have a blanket! And i get so hot under it every single night that i dont even use the whole piece of cloth... Even though its -20> degrees celcius during nighttime. Not inside our house. :xp:
I have never used a hot water bottle. I keep the heat on (or turned down), and even like to bundle underneath several handmade quilts. Even my cat likes to burrow underneath the covers when he sleeps
Heck, I'm Finnish and I've never used one
Wow, I'm really shocked that so many people don't use hot water bottles!
It's not just about warmth, you know: I like to hug mine (in a protective cloth covering) as I fall asleep. It's a teddy bear for grown ups.
Electric blankets: this is a subject that terrifies me. The danger of wetting the bed and electrocuting myself would make me so tense that I would wet the bed and electrocute myself.
This is totally foreign to me - I'm trying to decide if those who said they do use it are joking or not. I sleep with the fan on and rarely use any blankets.
It's not just about warmth, you know: I like to hug mine (in a protective cloth covering) as I fall asleep. It's a teddy bear for grown ups.
You need a woman bro
I have a man in bed with me every night, and sometimes my cat decides to warm up on top of us.
We use heating pads over here in the US, and they're waterproof, so no electrocution worries. :D
I like to stick it to Al Gore and his goons. :dev11: Heater and a light blanket works for me.
This is the best poll LF has ever seen.
Though I admit I didn't even know what you were talking about when I read the poll and wondered if you actually drank hot water. Maybe I will try it out tonight.
I have tricked a real live person to share a bed with me and they absorb my heat like a parasite.
Can you even still buy one in the states? :raise:
Haven't seen one in gawdz knows how long...
As for me, I'm one of those odd people that generate an exorbitant amount of body heat.. nothing more than a sheet and barely that at times.. otherwise it gets way too toasty.
The better-half and my cats don't complain though, seems *I'm* their proverbial water bottle :xp:
Maybe I will try it out tonight.Get one with one of those special attachment. :dev14:
Pick up anything on the floor between you and the bathroom first. :thmbup1:
As for me, I'm one of those odd people that generate an exorbitant amount of body heat.. nothing more than a sheet and barely that at times.. otherwise it gets way too toasty.
I wish I were like that, I've been told a few times that I feel like death.
@Topic: I use blankets and the fetal position as needed.
I live on the top floor of my dorm. Even with the window open it still sometimes feels like the middle of summer despite being winter in Wisconsin. Aint physics grand! And when that fails I have a slanket. Snuggies for cool people.
A slanket... why am I only just now finding out about this? Never heard the word before, but googling it shows the most amazing images.
A blanket and a dressing gown in one!
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/blog/images/slanket.gif)
This is what Obi Wan Kenobi would wear if he really let himself go.
i get used as a pillow by my current romantic interest in exchange for my body heat.
I am a secret anglophile, I should go buy one.
Wow, I'm really shocked that so many people don't use hot water bottles!
It's not just about warmth, you know: I like to hug mine (in a protective cloth covering) as I fall asleep. It's a teddy bear for grown ups.
I have an Eeyore cover on mine.
Electric blankets: this is a subject that terrifies me. The danger of wetting the bed and electrocuting myself would make me so tense that I would wet the bed and electrocute myself.
Quality.
A slanket... why am I only just now finding out about this? Never heard the word before, but googling it shows the most amazing images.
A blanket and a dressing gown in one!
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/blog/images/slanket.gif)
This is what Obi Wan Kenobi would wear if he really let himself go.
According to the advert i've just seen, I believe they're called 'Snuggies' over here, and you can get them from ASDA or your nearest JML stockist.
That's actually the first term I heard over here for them as well.
As for hot water bottles, rarely have ever used one.
It's to hot where I live to use one of those things. I just pile on the blankets when needed.
Ohh no! I HATE the snuggie! They come in 3 colors.
Yucky yellow!
retarded red!
And blue!
I used to have a hot water bottle, but I only used it once in my life. I just drink hot stuff usually (tea, hot cocoa, and COFFEE) I also share a bed with my dog and I sometimes lay on my old duck pillow I named "Ducky" when I was three. That is usually during car rides though. Also, my aunt made me something called "The Quillow" which is half quilt half pillow. Much better than "The Snuggie" or "The Sack."
The whole concept is lost on me. I'm honestly shocked and alittle saddened that people still use them.
Dammit, 10 years ago i was told we'd have flying cars by now, and people are still using hot water bottles? I don't know what the hell i payed the maker, but when i bite the dust i'm going to demand my money back.
According to the advert i've just seen, I believe they're called 'Snuggies' over here, and you can get them from ASDA or your nearest JML stockist.
There's actually a difference between the two. The main difference is cost and quality. Slankets cost $15-20 more but are a lot bigger and warmer. And I've worn both, snuggies are as useful as wearing an old beat up towel for warmth. Slankets have the warmth of a very warm blanket and are much longer reaching, I'm a tall person and it still drags on the floor when I wear it like a robe. Also, slankets come in waaaaay cooler designs.
Like mine looks like this
http://www.theslanket.com/images/large/pirate_LRG.jpg)
Thats right, its a pirate slanket.
And they sell slankets on skymall, the mall of the Gods.
What in the seven circles of hell is a hot water bottle?
Also, no Yoda love? :(
Ahh, I see you read inferno. And BTW, a hot water bottle is something people who aren't married or are old to warm themselves up. Its like this plastic thing you fill with hot water from a kettle, and then you put a cover over it and sleep with it so it will warm you up.
I've never even heard of a hot water bottle until I read this poll. I use the heater and blankets.
The advantage of a hot water bottle over heating is that it saves energy -- you warm up the area underneath your blankets/duvet rather than all of the outside.
a hot water bottle is something people who aren't married or are old to warm themselves up. Its like this plastic thing you fill with hot water from a kettle, and then you put a cover over it and sleep with it so it will warm you up.
Well, modern hotty botties are actually made of rubber, so that they're flexible and huggable. I'm not sure it's only for peoiple who are old or unmarried, either; I imagine that even people who share beds can still be a little chilly under the covers on cold winter nights. Of course, you can survive well enough without extra heat under your covers, but is nice to be extra warm, and farting will only do so much.
Hot Water Bottles will also ease a bad back, or any other ache or pain. They are, I am told, sometimes used for "women's problems."
Here's an example to help the convince the hotty-haters that they are missing out: if you have a double bed, or a wide single bed, you can put your hotty botty in an area of the bed away from you, wait for it to get really mattress-meltingly hot, and then remove the hot water bottle, and roll into the warm area. Ah, bliss!
The whole concept is lost on me. I'm honestly shocked and alittle saddened that people still use them.
Dammit, 10 years ago i was told we'd have flying cars by now, and people are still using hot water bottles? Hot water bottle have nothing to do with progress. If we were all driving hover cars and living on the moon I would still like to feel extra warm and comfortable under my covers. It's a simple pleasure, like hearing the wind howl down your chimney, or the sound of rain on a tin roof.
Also, no Yoda love?
I come from a faraway and arcane land known as "Mixnmojo." It is not our custom to have "Yoda love" there.
Wouldn't a hot water bottle get, well, f'ing cold overnight?
Wouldn't a hot water bottle get, well, f'ing cold overnight?
No. The rubber keeps the heat in, and if you have a cover that keeps it warmer for even longer. I'd guess that a hotty botty could stay hot for about an hour, and takes at least two hours to cool down, if it's kept under the covers. Even a cool hot water bottle is never "f'ing cold" -- when hot water loses its heat it turns to "room temperature," which, if it's under your blankets, is still pretty warm.
That said, a hot water bottle that is no longer hot is a burden, and should be cast out of the bed (usually with a satisfying "plop"). There was a joke in the TV series Maid Marrion and her Merry Men in which King Richard threw a pig out of his bed saying "my hot water bottle is cold" (they didn't have rubber botties in the middle ages; only pigs).
this is the best poll ever
I didn't know people have used hot water bottles since the 1800s.
Yea really, no Yoda lovin'? The Hell?!
I'm pretty much in the same boat with MAV, Jeff, The Betrayer, and gamma097. "WTF is that? Never heard of it" ...before this thread anyways...
Now I see what it is. Ehh, I use blankets and pillows. Nothing special and I grew up sleeping in unheated houses where it got below freezing, often.
Then again you're talking to a guy who once was homeless for a time--even if it was only a short time comparatively. Though I recall a few times where it was cold, wet, and inhospitable outside. So I found a carpet shop, and to their cutting scraps bin/shed out back... and burrowed down in there. I daresay it saved my life.
Have used plastic packaging, even digging up dirt. Emergency blankets (aluminum covering bag) and rain ponchos.
I don't want to experience any of that again.
Had pets. Dog not allowed on bed. Cats died a few years ago. Rats tend to be mostly problematic unless it is late morning. There are exceptions, though. Had a few girls here and there for mutual warmth, but those days are gone.
At night, as a semi asthmatic, concerns are more towards keeping the lungs from seizing up and/or accumulating too much fluid when "the condition" decides to return.
Ohh no! I HATE the snuggie! They come in 3 colors.
There was hillarious 4CHAN a meme that read something like:
" Snuggie
Dress your dog in one so it too can look like a douchebag, just like you! "
The meme pic had some little dog in a blue snuggie. Pretty funny actually
Not only do I love the cold, I too give off an enourmous amount of body heat (my normal temp is 99.7) no matter how cold it is. So I keep my fan running 24/7 to keep my room at a bearable temp. On a hot (warm or pleasant to others) 70 degrees and up my temp can get over 100 without me being sick. You can see me outside with a short sleeved shirt and shorts at 50 degrees and I will not complain one bit. So I use no blankets, no heater, or water bottle (unless you count one of those big metal/rubber ones that keep the water ice cold that I fill up 5 times a night). I just sleep on top of my comforter. I actually almost died one time because my electricity went off during the night and my temp got to over 105 in a matter of minutes. The doc said I was lucky to be alive. But the point is no, I do not have a hot water bottle.
I just have a bed with a ton of pillows, a few layers of blankets, and a comforter. After 10 minutes the bed is nice and body warm.
Used to be more extreme when I was younger, since I'd build little "nests" out of my pillows. Something about be covered on all sides was comforting.
For a good part of high school I'd cuddle with a long pillow at night, but since then I just have a bunch of blankets and pillows.
Along with my pajamas that I wear on and off, don't need a heating pad or hot water bottle. If anything it would be another distraction when trying to sleep.
A thin blanket is good enough for me, I don't have an unusually high body temp. but I prefer being cold rather than warm at night.
USA USA! In other words, I keep my heat on...or just have a blanket handy.
Honestly never heard of a hot water bottle until now, lol
Im old school just use the blanket, don't even need the heat sometimes.
A slanket... why am I only just now finding out about this? Never heard the word before, but googling it shows the most amazing images.
A blanket and a dressing gown in one!
http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/blog/images/slanket.gif)
This is what Obi Wan Kenobi would wear if he really let himself go.
Or you can just put your bathrobe on backwards as you sit on the couch. ;P