system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How/why does the body “get used to” cold or hot objects after being in contact for a while?

Is it that the body moves the temperature to the bodies temperature? Or does that body actually get used to it? Is it the skin touching the object ‘numbing’, or is it a mental change? Thanks!
gpt
No. When we feel an object is cold or hot we are really sensing that is *hotter* or *colder* than our skin. We don't feel temperature, we feel the temperature exchange.

We don't get used to it, we simply get to the same temperature. If you touch something cold and your hand starts warming it, eventually both surfaces will have the same temperature and you won't feel the difference anymore. 

Some materials, like metals, are very efficient dissipating heat so they will rapidly drain the heat from your skin's surface and will feel cold even if they are at the same temperature. Others, like wood, distribute worse the heat and the contact zone will get warmer faster. 

You can test this by putting one hand in cold water and the other in hot water. Then, put both in water at room temperature.