ROYAL OAK, Mich. -- The shivering starts in the last minute. That’s when the cold -- minus-256 degrees Fahrenheit and falling -- really sets in. The tick, tick, tick of the digital countdown clock in front of your face can’t move fast enough. The red digital temperature reading stares back, confirming the insanity.
You’re in basketball shorts, tan hospital socks that go a third of the way up your calf, black slippers and black fluffy mittens. Every other part of your skin is exposed as the bursts of air hit you. Vapor hovers at the top of the machine, just below your face.