Why does it hurt when u hold something really cold then take your hand off it?

Question

i was cleaning something at work and put my hand on something for balance. then when i finished i took it off and the stung. i also saw someone put their tongue on a really gold pole, then take it off and their tongue stared bleeding. why does this happen?

Answer 1

Your body contains a lot of water. Water expands when it freezes. So when you touch something cold, you are freezing your cells, causing them to expand with the water. But they can't expand too much, and the cell membranes burst, killing the cells.