December 11, 2013

I don't quite get it

Updated below.

You know that couple who took four kids outside to "play in the snow" and then were reported missing for days in sub-zero temperatures? They're okay, in case you didn't hear about it. But part of their survival story isn't clear to me.
The couple, who were without extra blankets, started a fire outside after the Jeep overturned. They heated rocks and placed them in the spare tire to keep the children, ages 3 to 10, warm at night.
What does that mean, exactly? They heated rocks in the fire, somehow slipped them inside the tire...and then what? Went back into the car and brought the tire in with them? And wouldn't that make a horrible rubber stink that fouled the air? I don't get it.

If you can envision how they did this, clue me in. I'm really glad they're alive, though. When I hear about one of these incidents, I always become furious with the adults. But in this case, they did well.

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An article I just read seems to provide a better description of how they stayed warm:
With the engine of Jeep disabled, Glanton removed the spare tire and used it as a fire ring to burn wood and brush to keep the adults and children warm, Pershing County Sheriff Richard Machado said. 

"They placed rocks inside the tire and used the rocks to keep the children warm at night," he said. 
Ah, I see!

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