Imagine being trapped under snow for a whopping eight days. Amazingly, in February 1799, Elizabeth Woodcock did just that. She was traveling home to Impington, UK, from the market in Cambridge when she was caught in an intense blizzard. She managed to travel four miles on her horse, before the horse was spooked by the storm and bolted. Elizabeth was thrown to the ground just a half mile from her house. She chased after the horse but couldn't catch up to it. Trudging through the knee-deep snow, she soon became exhausted and decided to take shelter under a bush, hoping the snow would stop. The storm got worse while Elizabeth slept, with the wind blowing snow over her to the height of several feet. Fortunately, the hedge formed a sort of protective cave around her. It may sound improbable that anyone could survive in thick snow, but snow actually makes good thermal insulation because it traps pockets of air that act as a sort of thermal blanket. When she awoke, Elizabeth realized she was trapped. With no way to dig herself out, she survived by using her hands to dig a small hole that allowed her to breathe. Then, on Sunday, she could hear villagers passing by on their way to church, so she tore off a branch from the bush and poked it through the snow, cleverly attaching a handkerchief to the top to form a primitive flag. Thankfully, someone spotted it. Elizabeth's husband and neighbors brought a horse and cart to retrieve her. Wrapped in blankets, she returned home. Elizabeth had survived eight days in the snowdrift, but she suffered severe frostbite in her feet and legs. A fever arose in the days after her rescue, and by the end of March she had to have her toes amputated. In July 1799, Elizabeth fell ill and died shortly after. There is no indication of what killed her. Some suspect it may have been an infection as the result of her ordeal, while others say it was unrelated. We will never know for sure.
