Help figuring out this puzzle

I've seen this before so I did it again.  These are new unopened water bottles that have been sitting outside all along.  They are roughly 4ft off the ground sitting on an outdoor barbecue.  The only frozen bottle it the one in the upright position, the others aren't even frozen a little but the upright one is frozen solid.  I placed another one on the ground lying down and it is not frozen either.  It's been getting in the lower 20's at night, mid 30's during the day and they are on the North side of the house in the shade all day.  Reckon I know why it takes at least 4 years to get an engineering degree, it'll take me that long to figure this out on my own.  Also, how long will Dave Kamp let us kick this around before he explains it?

The upright one has greater surface area exposed to the air/wind, so it'll freeze faster also less area on the BBQ, so it can't absorb heat from the BBQ.

jaybmiller wrote: The upright one has greater surface area exposed to the air/wind, so it'll freeze faster also less area on the BBQ, so it can't absorb heat from the BBQ.

Surface area was my first thought but having trouble with why the upright one is frozen solid and the one lying on the frozen ground and the others are completely liquid and not a little bit frozen.  To change things up I laid the frozen one down and stood one of the others upright today.

Sorry Jay, couldn't resist. Best number is 1 happy wife. No happy wife no happy life.

I'm not complaining but it hasn't gotten below freezing at night and the days have been in the upper forty's since I switched the bottles around, everything has thawed.  To be continued.

Edited by JW in MO - 12 Dec 2018 at 5:32pm

Been below freezing for two days now, same scene, upright bottle froze, others not even icy but. . . . . . . the boy, third year chemical engineering major says watch this, grabs one of the unfrozen bottles lying down, shakes it and it freezes solid.  Then he grabs another, walks in the house, shakes it and nothing.  I asked him to explain why and he answers, "I dunno, just heard it works."

There's a wife joke in there somewhere

OK, I don't know any more than before other than I have figured out that my diet Pepsi won't freeze in the shop fridge if I lay the bottles down.  And no Ted, the Crown ain't froze either and it's standing up!