• Question: Why do some people get goosebumps when they are cold?

    Asked by penguin123 to Emma, Jimmy, Janet, Niall, Simon on 15 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Niall Crawford

      Niall Crawford answered on 15 Mar 2013:

      They’re simply your hairs standing up. This is a reaction to the cold by trapping more air between the hair and the skin, which in hairier animals can help to warm you up. Humans hair is so thin that it doesn’t have much effect.

    • Photo: Emma Ashley

      Emma Ashley answered on 19 Mar 2013:

      The hairs on our skin stand up because the tiny muscles at the base of the hair follicle contract and this causes us to get bumps.

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