# What does "ten below" mean in Fahrenheit-using countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377 "2011-07-26T13:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/41 "2011-07-26T16:32:59Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > It’s a figure of speech. No, you’re a figure of speech. ::shakes fist in defense of Canada:: ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/42 "2011-07-26T16:39:20Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > What’s with this “North American” crap ? We use Celsius up here in Canada ever since the mid seventies and its been one of the few aspects of our metric conversion that has totally eclipsed the Imperial/American system. > > Kids today, haven’t a clue what 32[sup]o[/sup] F represents anymore. in near tropical Canada they might also use F degrees, at least some border Canadian radio will mention both units for some of the weather forecast. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/43 "2011-07-26T17:02:23Z")
Occasionally on the radio I’ll hear some dumb disc jockey say 40F is twice the temperature of 20F. Real weathermen would never say something that nonsensical. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/44 "2011-07-26T17:10:55Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > The Fahrenheit scale was specifically designed so that zero is about as cold as it ever gets and 100 is about as hot as it ever gets (in Europe, where Mr. D.G. Fahrenheit was located), so in many places it is fairly rare for temperatures to go below zero or above 100. Usually saying what decade the temperatures are in gives you a good idea of how hot or cold it is (ex. temperatures are in the nineties this week). It is very common for people to say fifties, sixties, etc. to refer to the temperature. No, 100F was supposed to be body temperature, and 0F was the coldest salt and ice brine that Fahrenheit could make. I grew up in Fairbanks Alaska. The convenient thing about living there is that 40 below means the same thing in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/45 "2011-07-26T17:11:01Z")
Any other Jack London fans? I like [_To Build a Fire_](http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html) which describes temperatures so low you wonder if there’s an off-by-32 error. However this is clarified in the first line of the following excerpt: > [@](#): > > … > Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty odd degrees of frost… > > As he turned to go on, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could fall to the snow, the spittle crackled. He knew that at fifty below spittle crackled on the snow, but this spittle had crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below–how much colder he did not know. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/46 "2011-07-26T17:13:02Z")
The Fahrenheit scale is much maligned, but it does suit the US temperature range quite well. Temps above 100F and below 0F are very rare, so anything above or below these figures are noteworthy. 22F might be mentioned as ‘10 degrees below freezing’, but it’s usually not because the areas that reach the freezing point will usually go well under that, and there’s nothing noteworthy about being below the freezing point. Below 0 is really cold, and it becomes a safety issue in area where people aren’t used to that. School was cancelled around here once when the temp hit ‘5 below’. Kids weren’t prepared to dress for that kind of weather. There’s less traffic though, because a lot of cars won’t start. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/47 "2011-07-26T17:14:49Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Any other Jack London fans? I like [_To Build a Fire_](http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html) which describes temperatures so low you wonder if there’s an off-by-32 error. However this is clarified in the first line of the following excerpt: No, I’m afraid I’ve never seen that before. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/48 "2011-07-26T17:16:58Z")
> [@BDoors](#): > > What does “ten below” mean in Fahrenheit-using countries? That dogs, even those abandoned in Antarctica, are gonna make puppies. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/49 "2011-07-26T17:20:32Z")
I can’t believe a simple question with a simple, unambiguous answer has now reached 47 posts. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/50 "2011-07-26T17:20:54Z")
“Fahrenheit-using countries”? Plural? Is there more than one Fahrenheit-using country? Officially? 🙂 (I grant that there’s some _unofficial_ Fahrenheit use in Canada; I think I even heard it on the radio a few months ago, on a station that caters to old people and American tourists…) ---
**Author:** ![BDoors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BDoors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BDoors)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/51 "2011-07-26T17:36:34Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > “Fahrenheit-using countries”? Plural? Is there more than one Fahrenheit-using country? Officially? 🙂 (I grant that there’s some _unofficial_ Fahrenheit use in Canada; I think I even heard it on the radio a few months ago, on a station that caters to old people and American tourists…) Apparently they also use it in Belize. Although it does seem unlikely that any weather forecast there has ever included the phrase “ten below”. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/52 "2011-07-26T17:38:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > No, 100F was supposed to be body temperature, and 0F was the coldest salt and ice brine that Fahrenheit could make. > > I grew up in Fairbanks Alaska. The convenient thing about living there is that 40 below means the same thing in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. Yes, Farenheit was trying to construct a thermometer that anyone could reproduce in their own lab, back in the early days of scientific experimentation. The trouble with “boil water” is that it could vary depending on altitude (altough I doubt that that mattered or that Farenheit knew it was a problem). When ice and salt are mixed, the coldest they get is 0F. The joke goes that while devising his thermometer, he got a slight fever from frequently mixing all that ice and salt. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/53 "2011-07-26T17:54:49Z")
> [@BDoors](#): > > Apparently they also use it in Belize. Interesting. A little searching turned up the [Belize News website](http://belizenews.com/), which links to various Belizean media. Fahrenheit temperatures are indeed more prominent. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/54 "2011-07-26T17:56:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > No, I’m afraid I’ve never seen that before. Sorry. Oops! :smack: Teach me not to skim. Sorry, back. 😉 It is a good story though, right? ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/55 "2011-07-26T18:04:29Z")
> [@BDoors](#): > > We measure it relative to freezing. I can’t tell you how other people experience it. I imagine along the lines of “cold”, “not cold”, “bloody cold” etc., much like Americans. Do you? Since 0(°C) = “freezing,” it could be said that you are measuring it relative to 0, which we are also doing when we say “10 below.” ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/56 "2011-07-26T18:05:25Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > in near tropical Canada… wait, what? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/57 "2011-07-26T18:15:25Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > wait, what? Windsor _is_ south of Detroit, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/58 "2011-07-26T18:22:59Z")
I grew up in northern New England. When we say “ten below” we mean ten degrees below zero degrees fahrenheit. We might also says “ten below freezing” in which case we mean twenty-two degrees fahrenheit. Freezing temperature (thirty-two degrees fahrenheit or zero degrees celsius) would be considered a mild temperature in winter time. I’ll go outside without a coat when it’s thirty-two degrees out. Zero degrees fahrenheit, on the other hand, is cold. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/59 "2011-07-26T18:27:34Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Actually we still say “potato” the same way you northern Americans do. And we say “about” not “aboot” as well :rolleyes: Sure, you don’t say “aboot” but many Canadian accents don’t say “about” (at least as how most American accents would say it) quite, either. “Aboot” is a rough, inexact, transliteration of how it sounds to many American listeners’ ears (although not everyone notices it.) Whenever I listen to NPR, I could tell which of the hosts come from Canada based on their pronunciation of that vowel sound, which is a little different than the pronunciation in most American accents. I’m not saying I can identify _all_ the Canadian voices, as not all of them have the “Canadian raising”, but there a lot of them who do. Like Dick Gordon. Or Sook-Yin Lee of “Definitely Not the Opera.” And American “ow” is /aʊ/, while those accents with Canadian raising the initial vowel of that diphthong is higher up in the throat, closer to an “eh” /ɛ/ or an “uh” /ʌ/ sound. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377/60 "2011-07-26T18:32:46Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > As a native Californian, I object to some of the characterizations of Americans in this thread. > > For me, ten below is ten below 50°F. > > There is no such thing as 0°F. It’s a ghost story told to kids. The high desert (like around China Lake) gets freeking cold at night in the winter months, and freeking hot in the day time in the summer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ten-below-mean-in-fahrenheit-using-countries/590377.md?page=4)