This is a variation of the analysis of activities related to

temperatures that has been floating around the Internet for several

years. Given the cold snap beating up most of the country, I thought

this would be appropriate today:

60 above zero:

Floridians turn on the heat. People in Minnesota plant gardens.

50 above zero:

Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Duluth sunbathe.

40 above zero:

Italian & English cars won't start. People in Minnesota drive with the

windows down.

32 above zero:

Distilled water freezes. The water in Bemidiji gets thicker.

20 above zero:

Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats. People in

Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero:

New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Minnesota have the

last cookout before it gets cold.

Zero:

The entire population of Miami dies. Minnesotans close the windows.

10 below zero:

Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Minnesota get out their winter

coats.

25 below zero:

Hollywood disintegrates. Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies

door to door.

40 below zero:

Washington DC runs out of hot air. People in Minnesota let the dogs sleep

indoors.

100 below zero:

Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Minnesotans get upset because they

can't start the minivan.

460 below zero:

All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). People in

Minnesota start saying, "Cold 'nuff fer ya?"

500 below zero:

Hell freezes over. Minnesota schools will open 2 hours late.

Hell freezes over? That's when the Vikings will win the Super Bowl.

Otherwise, a pretty accurate list. It's 15 below zero this morning, so I put on a T-shirt under my regular shirt this morning. Starting to get a bit of chill in the air finally. Global warming is really warming things up around here lately - almost a heat wave.

This is so CUTE. It is 32 F in Washington.

But the hot air from the Capitol and the White House does wam things up a lot. Maybe Planet X passed us already ?? N3RF

When I was in Minnesota one December, the sun came out and it hit +40F. Kids were showing up to the event I was photographing wearing hoodies, sandals, and shorts. No joking.

OH my, last week when it was only 25 above, I went over to talula's he lives two doors over and I must admit, I had a tee shirt and a flannel short sleeved shirt. I was only going next door. I must say though that this morning it was a bit nippy ya at 27 below.

Remember Andrew who lives in LA, he once said he used flannel sheets, flannel pj's, an electric blanket, and bed spread. When I asked him about it he said well it gets cold at night, it gets down to 65 or 70. I keep my house at 64.

It is funny, I have only lived up here for 3 years but that list is so true, and its not just Minnesota but also Wisconsin. The people up here are a hardy breed, ya.

River

I've seen versions of this temperature description before, but I like this one best, for two reasons. I'm from northern Minnesota, and the "

Studlover (imported) wrote: Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:47 am 500 below zero: Hell freezes over. Minnesota schools will open 2 hours late

" line.

Ok.. I'm from Minnesota, and I too have lived in the far northern part.. I hate socks, and will wear flip flops until my toes change colors. I wear two hoodies to keep warm and I have yet to have my truck not start because of the cold. Yup. True minnesotan!!!!!

When I was in school in the south (south of the Twin Cities) I got up early one morning to write a theme due that day and found that my fountain pen would not work---the ink in it was frozen. There was about 1/16" of ice on the ink in the bottle too. I used the handle of my toothbrush to break through the ice in the bottle and wrote the theme by dipping the pen.

By 9:00 the pen was working fine again because the indoor temperature had been above 60 for more than two hours.

.

I've never lived in Minnesota, but I did live in a log cabin in Alaska near Fairbanks where the temperature dropped to 65 below in the winter. I had no electricity, but did have a little oil stove that kept my cabin warm, except without electricity to move the air, there was a big difference in temperature between the floor and ceiling. On a particularly cold day, the dog's water on the floor would freeze, it would be about 60F at waist high, where my bed was, and 90F at head height.

To start my car, I had to heat the oil pan with a propane weed burner. For the first several miles the tires thump because they freeze, flat on one side. Only after they warm up are they round again. I even had to take my car battery inside at times to keep it from freezing.

I had an outhouse. Shit freezes, piling on top of the previous dump, so that by spring, there's a pile of it several feet high.

It had to be at least 35F below to keep the school kids inside at recess. 35F below was nice enough to go for a walk or to do a little cross country skiing.