# Britons convinced Earth crashing into sun! Temperature tops 100 degrees F! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 6, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241 "2003-08-06T01:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/21 "2003-08-06T23:52:24Z")
You’ve no idea how bad it is over here… The tarmac on the roads is melting. The trains are going slow because the tracks are warping in the heat. (We have a wonderfully run railway system in the UK… OK leaves on the track in the autumn (‘Fall’ to the colonials…) or the ‘Wrong type Of Snow’ in the winter can slow things down but Spring is OK…apart from industrial action) I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… [I’d be especially delighted to hear from Icelandics…] Phew, what a Scorcher… ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/22 "2003-08-07T00:15:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > **You’ve no idea how bad it is over here… > The tarmac on the roads is melting. > The trains are going slow because the tracks are warping in the heat. I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… > [I’d be especially delighted to hear from Icelandics…]** Well, actually, we get that every year, usually for a spell of a week or two a a time . . . But we’re used to it, and prepared for it (mostly with a/c), so it’s not as hard on us. It _is_ awfully nasty. Says **Eve** , as she wrings out her clothes from the third-day-in-a-row of torrential downpours . . . ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/23 "2003-08-07T00:20:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > \*\*You’ve no idea how bad it is over here… > The tarmac on the roads is melting. > The trains are going slow because the tracks are warping in the heat. > (We have a wonderfully run railway system in the UK… OK leaves on the track in the autumn (‘Fall’ to the colonials…) or the ‘Wrong type Of Snow’ in the winter can slow things down but Spring is OK…apart from industrial action) > I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… > [I’d be especially delighted to hear from Icelandics…] > > Phew, what a Scorcher… \*\* How do you “cope” with a 90 F degree day? Oh the humanity! 90 degrees! I want to hear the Australians respond. 😛 BTW why isn’t there an Australian summer related “Temperature Conversion Chart” version of [this list](http://www.diocese-edmundston.ca/humor/official.canadian.temperature.conversion.chart.htm) below? > [@](#): > > Official Canadian Temperature Conversion Chart > C = Canadian or Celsius > > 50° Fahrenheit (10° C) > Californians shiver uncontrollably. > Canadians plant gardens. > > 35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C) > Italian Cars won’t start > Canadians drive with the windows down > > 32° Fahrenheit (0 ° C) > American water freezes > Canadian water gets thicker. > > 0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C) > New York City landlords finally turn on the heat. > Canadians have the last cookout of the season. > > -60° Fahrenheit (-51° C) > Mt. St. Helens freezes. > Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door. > > -100° Fahrenheit (-73° C) > Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. > Canadians pull down their ear flaps. > > -173° Fahrenheit (-114° C) > Ethyl alcohol Freezes. > Canadians get frustrated when they can’t thaw the keg. > > -460° Fahrenheit (-273° C) > Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops. > Canadians start saying “cold, eh?” > > -500° Fahrenheit (-295° C) > Hell freezes over. > The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/24 "2003-08-07T00:24:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > \*\*I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… > \*\* Arizona checking in. We get excited because it’s finally down in the double digits. We go outside and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/25 "2003-08-07T00:35:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > You’ve no idea how bad it is over here… Well, yes, some of us do, living in climates that get that sort of heat routinely. > [@](#): > > The tarmac on the roads is melting. Wait until it starts expanding into little hummocks and dips in the heat. > [@](#): > > The trains are going slow because the tracks are warping in the heat. Yeah, we get that too, sometimes. And in the winter they shrink up from the cold and pull apart. Nuisance. > [@](#): > > I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… In my area of North America we routinely get multi-day stretchs of 90-100 degree heat in the summer, and have even hit an all-time high of 106 (that was beastly) It’s such a lovely contrast to the mid-winter -20 to -30. Really. Everyone around here owns three wardrobes - “barely there” for summer, “normal” for fall and spring, and “spacesuit” for the depths of winter. But seriously, part of Britain’s problem is you aren’t accustomed to this heat. I’m sure your architecture is designed more to hold heat in than to allow free-flowing breezes. The lack of air conditioning and even fans in some cases has been noted. You’re probably not accustomed to dressing for this heat, or all the myriad little coping skills other people have. Here are my suggestions: Keep as much airflow in your living quarters as possible - open windows, obtain fans, etc. Take a shower before bed. In my case, I keep my long hair wet, but if you haven’t got long hair drape a damp towel over your head and forehead. If you can direct a fan over it even better - you’ll dump a lot of heat that way. Drink lots and lots of fluid - water, juice, etc. but go easy on anything with caffeine or alcohol since those two make you loose water faster. Eat light. Small meals - your appetite is probably suffering anyway. Move slower. Aggravating until you get used to it, but don’t force yourself to walk as fast as you do in cooler weather. Find cool places. A half an hour out of the heat can do wonders. If you get dizzy, have a pounding headache, feel lightheaded, etc. get out of the heat and/or seek medical attention. ESPECIALLY if you become very heated AND _stop sweating_ seek medical attention - you’re either dangerously dehydrated, getting heatstroke, or both. Don’t mess around with that. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/26 "2003-08-07T00:45:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*Yes, we’re all wusses. You’re all much better than we are at being hot. Jolly well done. \*\* _My_, the heat must be making the Poms all irritable and whiney. Oh, wait… (Just kidding, Francesca… hope it’s cooling down for you soon. :)) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/27 "2003-08-07T00:48:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > \*\*You’ve no idea how bad it is over here… > The tarmac on the roads is melting. > The trains are going slow because the tracks are warping in the heat. > I’d like to see how you lot in The Rest Of The World cope with temperatures of ninety-something degrees fahreinheit… > [I’d be especially delighted to hear from Icelandics…] > > Phew, what a Scorcher… \*\* The roads are melting? The _roads_ are _melting_? What are your roads made of over there, marshmallow creme? It routinely hits 100 or more for a week or so every summer, and I have never in my life seen a road melt. Not once in over 27 years. So what’s the deal? Is this just rank hyperbole, or are the roads and the train tracks just that shoddy across the pond? Anyway, how do we deal with the heat? We stay out of it the best we can. We try to wear cool, comfortable clothes, stay in the shade, and drink lots of cool stuff. We don’t do yardwork in the middle of the day. Hell, we try not to do much of anything in the middle of the day, especially outdoors. That, and after a while your body just…adjusts to it. Yeah, it’s still hot, but it’s not as horrible as it seemed at first. ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/28 "2003-08-07T00:59:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrazyCatLady \* > **So what’s the deal? Is this just rank hyperbole, or are the roads and the train tracks just that shoddy across the pond?** I’m not sure about the roads, but apparently the train tracks there are built to deal with extreme _cold_, not heat. I imagine if we unexpectedly experienced extremely cold weather down here, for example, our train tracks – which are built to withstand heat – would contract and warp, or simply crack. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/29 "2003-08-07T00:59:57Z")
While it’s a rare summer here that we _don’t_ break 100 F (with grueling Mississippi-Delta humidity to boot), I will stop my oh-you-wimps chortling long enough to extend sympathy. I understand how awful weather outside the norm can be; I spent a few years in Iowa, where 30 below zero meant people were outside saying, “Goodness, what a mild winter we’re having!” (Actually they didn’t say “goodness”; they said, “oh yaaaah” like those people in _Fargo_.) As a native Floridian, I didn’t find that even remotely amusing. So buck up folks, and be sure to fill up cans (errr, tins) of this heat so you can open them up again in the winter and heat your homes. Do heed **Broomstick** ’s advice above; the heat really can be dangerous, as I learned from a terrible experience helping a friend build a deck in his backyard when the temp was about 98. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/30 "2003-08-07T01:49:33Z")
I was wondering if the European Dopers could answer this–are the high temperatures accompanied by high humidity as well? In the D.C. metro area, we routinely get summers that have temperatures of +90° and +90% humidity. Anything over 60% humidity starts to feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, the truly nasty weather gets washed away with a thunderstorm and the cycle starts all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/31 "2003-08-07T02:16:04Z")
Well, let’s see - it’s 9:20 PM in Dallas, temperature 100 degrees. The high today was, I believe, 108 degrees - but it was a real DRY heat, the temperature heat index was like 115 in the shade, 125 in the sun. The good news: tomorrow’s high is predicted to be a frosty 105 degrees. I hate this freaking town in August! ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/32 "2003-08-07T02:19:59Z")
By the way, the Memphis paper’s headline about the heat wave: “London broils.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/33 "2003-08-07T02:29:00Z")
I’m staying with my parents in Kentucky this summer. Now we usually top 90 consistently during the summer, and get a few days over 100. This summer it’s just been rain, rain, rain, and a bit cooler than usual. By parents are both first order weather wimps though, so we run the AC almost every day. When I go back to Claremont at the end of August, it will most likely be over 100 for a few weeks. However, humidity is almost zero. I’ve survived out there with no AC for three years. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/34 "2003-08-07T02:31:06Z")
I have to whine a little more - I just read from Dallas’ on-line newspaper that we broke the record and hit 109 degrees today - passing the August 9, 1952 record of 108. I do have to feel for London folks if they don’t have A/C, though. Can’t wait to see what my utility bill is for this month, I have the thermostat on 69 degrees and it will be changed over my dead, sizzling body. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/35 "2003-08-07T06:45:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by medstar \* > I was wondering if the European Dopers could answer this–are the high temperatures accompanied by high humidity as well? Well, I can’t answer for the Europeans (;)), but here it doesn’t seem to follow any patterns really. Sometimes it’s warm and humid, sometimes it seems (relatively) dry. I’ve never experienced Mid-West type disgusting-can’t-breathe-or-even-move type humidity. C’mon global warming, do your worst, give us a summer every year!!! **Narrad** : that’s what any normnal person would assume, but the fact is it doesn’t even get that cold here. Maybe down to -20C° at night for a few days a year in the highlands, but daytime temperatures seem to rarely stay at or below 0°C for very long. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/36 "2003-08-07T11:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrazyCatLady \* > \*\*The roads are melting? The _roads_ are _melting_? What are your roads made of over there, marshmallow creme? \*\* LOL. Well the roads arn’t melting over here in Yorkshire. **mascaroni** must live where the roads really _are_ made of marshmallow creme! ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/37 "2003-08-07T11:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Andy \* > \*\ ***Narrad** : that’s what any normnal person would assume, but the fact is it doesn’t even get that cold here. Maybe down to -20C° at night for a few days a year in the highlands, but daytime temperatures seem to rarely stay at or below 0°C for very long. \*\* I said it before… Damn Gulf Stream. Yep. Washington DC. 90+ degree (and maybe a few above 100) and 90%+ humidity. Every summer is like being a lobster in a pot of boiling water. Breathing can be difficult, exercising is torture, and celebrating Independence Day (July 4 for you out-of-towners) is downright dangerous. Stay hydrated folks. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/38 "2003-08-07T12:13:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by medstar \* > \*\*I was wondering if the European Dopers could answer this–are the high temperatures accompanied by high humidity as well? In the D.C. metro area, we routinely get summers that have temperatures of +90° and +90% humidity. Anything over 60% humidity starts to feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, the truly nasty weather gets washed away with a thunderstorm and the cycle starts all over again. \*\* Speaking for Dublin, the humidity has been dreadful for the past few days, even though the temperature has not been that high, and it’s been cloudy. I believe **micilin** checked and said it’s been 88% for the past week. On Tuesday morning it was actually supersaturated - condensation was forming on me as I walked to work. Today, the humidity appears to have dropped as the sun has come out and the temperature has risen. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/39 "2003-08-07T12:40:27Z")
As a Baltimore-Washington-area native now living in Dublin, I _scoff_ at the notion that this is “dreadful humidity”. Scoff, scoff, scoff. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241/40 "2003-08-07T12:41:54Z")
What those shoes, **ruadh**. You’re scoffing them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britons-convinced-earth-crashing-into-sun-temperature-tops-100-degrees-f/193241.md?page=3)