What is brain freeze?

What BBN said about it

1. PD

   Professor Doug FenwickBrain freeze is your brain actually icing over, about four millimeters deep, like a pond in January, and a study proves it.

2. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA viewer asks what brain freeze is, and joining us by satellite is Professor Doug Fenwick, Director of Hunches at The Institute of Probably.

3. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHis credentials include an honorary degree in Confidence.

4. PD

   Professor Doug FenwickSimple. You swallow a milkshake, the cold hits the brain, and the top layer sets like a crème brûlée.

5. PD

   Professor Doug FenwickYou can tap it with a spoon, I have.

6. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNo, your brain does not freeze. Per Wikipedia, it's a brief headache when something cold touches the roof of the mouth.

7. PD

   Professor Doug FenwickOf course it touches the roof of the mouth. That's the brain's front porch. The cold walks in the door and the brain panics.

8. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe roof of the mouth is not a porch.

9. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorPer Wikipedia, it's believed a nerve response makes blood vessels rapidly constrict and swell, and the pain is felt in the head.

10. PD

    Professor Doug FenwickPipes! Exactly what I said. My study pipes freeze and swell every winter, and I once stood in there for eleven minutes to prove it.

11. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorEleven minutes.

12. PD

    Professor Doug FenwickFine, the pain is real and the brain stays warm.

13. PD

    Professor Doug FenwickI'll admit it. Though I should say the institute is this room, and the freezer behind me is where we keep the hunches.

14. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorOf course it is.

15. PD

    Professor Doug FenwickThey keep very well. Frozen, you see.

16. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThank you, Professor. Please defrost the hunches before anyone asks them anything.