# Coldness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2000, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044 "2000-11-20T23:52:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/1 "2000-11-20T23:52:51Z")
I have noticed that women seem to complain more about the cold than men. I would think that men would get colder easier because they generally have less body fat and a larger surface area for the cold to act upon. Does anybody have a reason why this would be? ---
**Author:** ![Cabbage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/2 "2000-11-21T00:28:06Z")
I’ve noticed this too. My theory has always been that women have more defense mechanisms like this than men to protect themselves and an unborn child during pregnancy, but that’s just a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Don](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e95f7d/32.png) [@Engineer\_Don](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Don)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/3 "2000-11-21T00:31:02Z")
For office buildings it is usually blamed on clothing. Men’s business attire is generally heavier than women’s, and therefore the men tend to be more comfortable when it is colder, and the women more comfortable when it is hotter. We could all save on our air conditioning bills if we conducted business in beach attire. Away from the office you still get similar effects, in that frequently women’s attire is more revealing than mens. Women also have those cooling fin thingies on their fronts. Maybe that adds enough surface area to make a difference. Or maybe they are just more sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Short](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Short](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/4 "2000-11-21T00:43:33Z")
Funny, I seem to remember from an archy class something about women doing better in the cold than men. If I remember right, men died at a 2:1 ratio to women when exposed to the cold in the Donner Party and Willie Handcart Company. The latter being important because starvation was not a factor, just the cold. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/5 "2000-11-21T00:45:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Short \* > \*\*Funny, I seem to remember from an archy class . \*\* Archy? ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/6 "2000-11-21T01:31:26Z")
But ain’t they complain about everything more then men? And who do they complain to? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/7 "2000-11-21T05:40:45Z")
mongrel\_8 wrote: > [@](#): > > I would think that men would get colder easier because they generally have… a larger surface area Larger animals (of the same shape) generally handle the cold better because they have _less_ surface area in proportion to their weight. It’s the weight that produces heat, and the surface area that loses it. If you take two animals of the same shape, but one is twice as tall (and wide, etc.) as the other, then the larger one will have four times the surface area, but eight times the weight. ---
**Author:** ![lesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/34f0e0/32.png) [@lesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lesa)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coldness/42044/8 "2000-11-21T07:21:50Z")
What I’ve always heard is that women have less fat on their feet and hands. So they feel cold more quickly. It doesn’t help that women at work are usually wearing thin hose instead of socks. Also, it’s claimed that when women get cold their bodies conserve heat in the torso area. Supposedly this isn’t true with men. So while a woman will feel cold very quickly, she will actually survive at freezing temperatures longer.