# Was Frosty the Snowman a hypochondriac?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 18, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145 "2010-07-18T19:11:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/1 "2010-07-18T19:11:35Z")
Remember that animated Frosty the Snowman movie that one TV network or another used to run every December, at least through the 1970s and possibly later?
When I was a kid I never heard the word “hypochondriac”, but I remember watching that cartoon and getting the distinct — probably mistaken — impression that thermometers caused Frosty to start sweating/melting. This was because he would seem to be fine, then a scene would show him spotting a thermometer, and he’d immediately start to melt, and would try to get away from the thermometer. At least that’s how it appeared to the “child me”. It occurred to me much later, as an adult, that perhaps Frosty was a hypochondriac, and the sight of a thermometer would simply make him _think_ he was melting.
Does anybody have a better, clearer recollection, or perhaps seen the movie more recently?
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/2 "2010-07-18T19:18:31Z")
Haven’t seen it in years. Wasn’t the thermometer just a prop to show the temp was rising? Or am I being wooshed? I do not believe that there was a subtle hypochondria theme to the Frosty cartoon.
Santa was a manic-depressive, however.
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### Author:  [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/3 "2010-07-18T19:19:49Z")
The filmmakers used “Frosty seeing a thermometer” as a (hackneyed) visual cue that it’s hot. If it’s hot, Frosty starts melting, and has to get away to someplace cold.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/4 "2010-07-18T19:46:18Z")
Well, remember I’m talking about the impression I got _as a kid_ watching the cartoon. I would have been younger than 10, and probably wasn’t yet well-versed in things like “visual cues” and “plot devices”. All I saw was Frosty looking at a thermometer, and _and only then_ starting to melt. At least, that’s how it looked to me.
The thing that brought this to mind now as an adult was my roommate and his various and sundry medical “conditions”. Specifically, his alleged sensitivity to things like … cell phone “radiation”. Considering that this “radiation” doesn’t seem to affect him if you simply take the phone into the next room (that is, the wall does absolutely nothing to block cell phone signals - if it did, cell phones would be pretty useless). Or considering the cell phone signals that are constantly zipping through the air 24/7 that don’t affect him. But if he _sees_ somebody nearby talking on a cell phone (or just wearing Bluetooth earpiece), he suddenly gets a headache or whatever it is that supposedly happens.
Of course, the other possibility is “conditioned response” - he happened to get a headache one time and noticed somebody talking on a cell phone, and forever after associated his headache with cell phones.
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### Author:  [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/5 "2010-07-18T19:57:45Z")
Yeah, but what happens when you knock your roommate’s top hat off? That’s the key question.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/6 "2010-07-18T20:18:37Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#):
>
> Yeah, but what happens when you knock your roommate’s top hat off? That’s the key question.
Now that you mention it, he _does_ put on a hat every time he goes outdoors, regardless of the weather, even if he’s just stepping out to fetch the mail from the mailbox that’s nailed to the front porch.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/7 "2010-07-18T20:24:08Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#):
>
> Well, remember I’m talking about the impression I got _as a kid_ watching the cartoon. I would have been younger than 10, and probably wasn’t yet well-versed in things like “visual cues” and “plot devices”. All I saw was Frosty looking at a thermometer, and _and only then_ starting to melt. At least, that’s how it looked to me.
I agree with the others in this thread, you are WAY overthinking this. The thermometer rising (it was never just a shot of a thermometer, it was a shot of mercury rising) was used to point out to the audience its getting hot. Which is bad for Frosty.
Also, Frosty has been shown on TV every year (usually twice) since as long as I can remember. I watched it this Christmas in fact.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/8 "2010-07-18T20:53:00Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> I agree with the others in this thread, you are WAY overthinking this. The thermometer rising (it was never just a shot of a thermometer, it was a shot of mercury rising) was used to point out to the audience its getting hot. Which is bad for Frosty.
No doubt, no doubt. Maybe my kid brain somehow picked up on the way he only appeared to be melting _when he looked at the thermometer_. Not before, and not after. And that’s what stuck in my head - I definitely remember making a connection between seeing the thermometer and melting.
Now I’m gonna have to see if I can find this thing online and rewatch it.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/9 "2010-07-18T20:58:51Z")
I think it was a typical example of cartoon logic. The temperature had already risen but Frosty didn’t start melting until he saw that it had risen. It’s like the way Elmer Fudd can run off a cliff but gravity doesn’t affect him until he looks down.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/10 "2010-07-18T21:37:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> I think it was a typical example of cartoon logic. The temperature had already risen but Frosty didn’t start melting until he saw that it had risen. It’s like the way **Elmer Fudd** can run off a cliff but gravity doesn’t affect him until he looks down.
**COUGH** Wile E. Coyote **COUGH**
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/11 "2010-07-18T22:53:33Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> **COUGH** Wile E. Coyote **COUGH**
Elmer Fudd does run off at least one cliff, but in the one I’m remembering he briefly turns into a sucker and then runs back to solid ground.
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/12 "2010-07-18T23:42:30Z")
Frosty would look at the thermometer and he’d see the temp going up. This would cause him to panic. When you get panicky you sweat and your internal temperature rises, this is what happened to Frosty.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/13 "2010-07-19T05:52:04Z")
Ah-ha!
Frosty the Snowman, part 1:
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd39Fnas8Ro)
Starting at 7:42 -
[Frosty starts sweating/melting]
**Frosty** : Uh-oh!
**Little Girl** : What’s the matter, Frosty?
**Frosty** : Whew! Is there a thermometer around here?
**LG** : Over there on the wall! [points] Why?
[shot of rising thermometer]
**Frosty** : Oh, I was afraid of that! The thermometer’s getting red! I hate red thermometers!
**LG** : Why, Frosty?
**Frosty** : 'Cause when the thermometer gets all reddish, the temperature goes up! And when the temperature goes up, I start to melt!
So okay, he understood that the higher temperature is what made him melt, but he thought it was the thermometer _causing_ the higher temperature. So you can sort of see how a young kid might interpret that the way I did.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/14 "2010-07-19T06:55:34Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#):
>
> So okay, he understood that the higher temperature is what made him melt, but he thought it was the thermometer _causing_ the higher temperature. So you can sort of see how a young kid might interpret that the way I did.
Not with this line:
**Frosty** : 'Cause when the thermometer gets all reddish, the temperature goes up! And when the temperature goes up, I start to melt!
It sounds like he understands perfectly well how a thermometer works and what it means for him. Face it, you were just a weird little kid. 😛
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### Author:  [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/15 "2010-07-19T07:49:03Z")
Its hot and humid here, so I thank you for thsi thread, it made me feel cool.
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### Author:  [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/16 "2010-07-19T15:41:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> Not with this line:
>
> **Frosty** : 'Cause when the thermometer gets all reddish, the temperature goes up! And when the temperature goes up, I start to melt!
>
> It sounds like he understands perfectly well how a thermometer works and what it means for him. Face it, you were just a weird little kid. 😛
But he’s stating it as direct cause & effect. i.e. “when thermometer turns red -\> temperature goes up”, or in other words, the thermometer turning red precedes the temperature rising, instead of the correct, other-way-around: “the thermometer turns red _when_ the temperature goes up” or “when the thermometer turns red it means the temperature has gone up”. (damn, that sentence was twisted!)
Though to be fair to Frosty, he’s only a few minutes old at this point. And maybe Rankin/Bass were poking fun at people who confuse thermometers and thermostats.
> [@BigBertha](#):
>
> Its hot and humid here, so I thank you for thsi thread, it made me feel cool.
I was actually thinking of adding “Perfect July topic:” to the thread title when I posted the OP 😃
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/17 "2010-07-19T15:44:19Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#):
>
> But he’s stating it as direct cause & effect. i.e. “when thermometer turns red -\> temperature goes up”, or in other words, the thermometer turning red precedes the temperature rising, instead of the correct, other-way-around: “the thermometer turns red _when_ the temperature goes up” or “when the thermometer turns red it means the temperature has gone up”. (damn, that sentence was twisted!)
But you’re talking about a kid’s movie. You’re seeing cartoon logic in effect and then proceeding to jump to the totally wrong conclusion. “When the thermometer turns red” is a visual shorthand for “the temperature has gone up.” No more, no less.
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### Author:  [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/18 "2010-07-19T15:57:23Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#):
>
> **COUGH** Wile E. Coyote **COUGH**
You rang?
He may not be a hypochondriac but there was definitely something wrong with Frosty. I think he was a little brain damaged, why was he always saying “Happy Birthday”? I think he might have had some yellow snow\* mixed in his head.
\*[sub]From a crack addict[/sub]
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/19 "2010-07-19T16:07:24Z")
I don’t remember the TV special but based on what I’ve read here, I don’t think he’s a hypochondriac. But I don’t think he’s all that bright either–I think he genuinely does think the thermometer is what makes it hotter.
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### Author:  [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-frosty-the-snowman-a-hypochondriac/547145/20 "2010-07-19T16:35:33Z")
If he’s not all that bright, how does he know he can’t count to ten? He says “I can count to 10…1…2…3…4…5…9…6…8…well, I can count to 5.”
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