THE FACTS

The claim is repeated so often that many people accept it as fact. But according to scientists, the notion that a body of cold water will reach boiling temperature more quickly than an identical body of hot water under the same parameters is simply false.

This kitchen myth may have started as a way to encourage people to cook with cold water, not hot, which can contain more impurities. It may also have its origins in the fact that cold water generally gains heat more rapidly than water that is already hot, though it will not boil faster.

Image Credit... Leif Parsons

But under the right circumstances, the reverse phenomenon can occur, and hot water can freeze more quickly than cool water.