Campus & Community

An animal obsession, singing gadget, and secret accessory

Photo illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

November 18, 2025

2 min read

Psychology professor defies the cold with cuddly, hearty, cozy things

Part of the
Favorite Things
series

Recommendations from Harvard faculty

Elika Bergelson is the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Social Sciences in the Department of Psychology. She also identifies as a cold person (physically if not emotionally).

One fascinating aspect of the human mind is that there are many ways in which information gets encoded, stored, and retrieved. That is, you can “look things up” in different ways: Think of words that start with B! Name all the fruits you’ve ever eaten! This made it hard — but fun — to try to sort by “favorite things.” Here are my top three … all of which happen to be proficient at keeping warm.

An animal obsession

Penguins

Starting around sixth grade, my parents encouraged me to read magazines like National Geographic every weekend, find 20 words I didn’t know, and memorize their definitions and etymology. One article I read was about emperor penguins, and I got obsessed with the whole species from there. When they slide on their bellies, it’s called “tobogganing”; they’re stylishly dressed; and their young huddle together to stay warm and be cared for communally in what are called crèches. Wait ’til you hear about some species’ mating behaviors. 10/10.

A kitchen gadget

Zojirushi rice cooker

This is an amazing kitchen gadget, well worth its weight in counter space. You just add however many cups of rice you want, fill up to the right line with water, press a button, and go. It sings you a song when you start it and another one when it’s ready! It has a programmable timer so you can schedule your rice to be done when you get home … and if you’re late, it will just keep it warm for you. And it’s not just for rice: We use it for steel-cut oats overnight all winter. We even made a cheesecake in it once! 11/10.

A survival tip

Fleece-lined tights

I am a cold person (mostly physically). I am also a dedicated all-weather bike commuter, and I firmly believe that there’s no reason to feel cold if you just dress right. Fleece-lined tights are awesome because they’re relatively thin but warm, and you can be secretly wearing them under your pants from November through March, and only you will know. Win-win. 9.5/10 for surviving winter in New England.

— As told to Sy Boles/Harvard Staff Writer