GIF

Did you for some reason think the grueling endurance march that was 2017 would end without one final ordeal? You fool. Right now the eastern and midwestern parts of the country are enduring record-breaking sub-zero temperatures, with the only silver lining being that it’s cold enough to instantly freeze soap bubbles, which it turns out is shockingly beautiful.

Alberta, Canada’s Chris Ratzlaff used a combination of water, dish soap, salt, and corn syrup to create resilient bubbles that don’t immediately pop when exposed to freezing temperatures that make it feel like your eyeballs could. Instead, the bubbles remain intact as they quickly turn into a patchwork of intricate frost patterns.

I’d be tempted to try filming a timelapse like this myself, but I have no plans to leave my warm house until sometime in March.

[Twitter – Chris Ratzlaff via Twitter – Alexandra Klasinski]