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Here's What It's Like To Live Where The Temperature Drops To -96 Sometimes

Never complaining about winter again, tbh.

Julie Gerstein
by Julie Gerstein

BuzzFeed Staff

Just for a minute, imagine living in a place where THIS is a reasonable temperature. Yep, -60 degrees Celsius. That's -76 degrees Fahrenheit.

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That's how cold it can get in Oymyakon, a tiny village located in the northeast corner of Siberia.

Oymyakon is considered the coldest "permanently settled" place in the world. And actually? The coldest it's ever gotten here is -96 degrees.

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It was originally settled as a stopover for reindeer herders who'd bring their animals to the town's nearby hot springs. It cannnnn warm up in the summer. In July, the average temperature is around 58 degrees, but the town's overall yearly temp is a coooooool 4 degrees.

There's only one tiny store in the whole town.

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And yes, it sells vodka.

The town is proudly known as "The Pole of Cold." (That's what the sign says in Cyrillic.)

Amos Chapple / Amos Chapple/REX/Shutterstock

While Oymykon only has around 500 permanent residents, its nearest city, Yakutsk, has a population of about 300,000, and boasts a fine arts museum, a folklore museum, and a museum dedicated to mammoths.

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FRIGGIN' MAMMOTHS!

Yeah, seems legit.

In the winter, everything freezes.

Including eyelashes!

Look at these EYELASHES.

Incredibly, people still venture outside — like this guy, who decided to ride his bike around town.

And this guy, who decided to go swimming in the local river, Kuydusun:

But somehow the dogs don't seem to mind.

Amos Chapple / Amos Chapple/REX/Shutterstock

And the ponies don't either.

Everything looks incredibly gorgeous. AND COLD.

Still, I'll be honest, I'm probably not gonna be taking my next vacation here.