It has been said that copious amounts of snow cause a person to, well, not think clearly. See pibloktoq.
Now municipalities in Wisconsin are mixing beet juice in with salt water to de-ice streets. The only catch is, people who wish to have their streets de-iced must run outside and shout, “Beet juice! Beet juice! Beet juice!”
Read about thawing in the Mudd.