# ­xkcd thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574 "2020-05-28T00:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 180
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3583 "2024-10-24T01:57:33Z")
Room temperature is 44 gigabytes per nanojoule, and that’s the way I likes it. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3584 "2024-10-24T02:01:43Z")
“Lumens? How much is that in candlepower? I need to know so I can order carbide pellets for my acetylene lamp.” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3585 "2024-10-24T02:32:33Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Is this an age-related thing? I’m in my 70’s, and it hasn’t hit yet. I think I do handle heat worse than I used to and get cold slightly more easily; but I’m nowhere near down to only being comfortable within a couple of degrees. If the difference is between just below 32 and just above, one degree can mean I lost a crop – or several – sooner than I wanted to, or even for the season. But as far as me, it matters more what I’m doing; the temperature control inside my house is in any case far from precise; and I actually prefer it if different places in the house are different temperatures. Comfortable sleeping temperature for me is low 60’s. Comfortable sitting-at-a-desk temperature is upper 60’s to low 70’s. Upper 70’s or even low 80’s is nice for messing with the irrigation system, which involves getting wet. Low 50’s is good for splitting or stacking firewood. Basking in front of the wood stove should be hot enough that I can’t do it for too long, but it’s lovely for a while. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3586 "2024-10-24T03:25:16Z")
I’m much fussier about temp if I’m going to be sitting still than if I’m moving around. And i like it warmer for sitting still than for moving around. But give me a nice throw blanket, and I’m okay sitting in a cool place. Does it count as being picky about the temp if i roll up my sleeves or wrap a blanket around my shoulders? I think i probably do react to a change of a degree or two in some situations (mostly sitting-still situations). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3587 "2024-10-24T07:46:50Z")
What, you think us Celsius-users are less picky about temperatures, even though our degrees are bigger? 22 degrees is as high as I’m willing to set my air conditioner; if you want to put it at 23, you may was well turn on a space heater. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3588 "2024-10-24T12:25:18Z")
Oh wow, you are worse than me. And i hate the heat. Although… I may have set the hotel ac at 22 when i visited Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3589 "2024-10-24T13:04:18Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I grew up in the Tundra of Wisconsin, but more importantly, in an old drafty house with parents whose mantra was “Put on another layer!”. I grew up in North Carolina, but the words, “Well, put on a sweater,” and, “Turn on a fan,” were said quite often. I am often shivering or sweating when I’m a friends’ houses. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3590 "2024-10-24T14:01:08Z")
I keep imagining all of these Fahrenheit users seeing a weather forecast that says 78 degrees then going outside and saying “77 degrees? Great, now I’ll be freezing all day!” ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3591 "2024-10-24T14:26:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > you think us Celsius-users are less picky about temperatures, even though our degrees are bigger? 22 degrees is as high as I’m willing to set my air conditioner; if you want to put it at 23, you may was well turn on a space heater. That difference is well over 2 degrees F. We’ve got people here in this thread complaining about differences of 1 degree F. I doubt the difference in individual human responses has anything much to do with which scale they’re using. But my original point was just that the Fahrenheit scale is more precise than the Celsius scale; and that the different degree of precision may not matter to a lot of people. It’s possible that it matters to more people than I thought. > [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I am often shivering or sweating when I’m a friends’ houses. That one’s likely to be unavoidable, because the temperatures that people are comfortable at vary considerably. If your friends set the temperature to suit you, they (and likely some of the other guests) will be miserable. It’s often unavoidable even in the same house – if my father was comfortable in a short sleeved shirt, my mother needed that sweater. ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3592 "2024-10-24T16:13:59Z")
If only it were possible for thermostats to operate in half degree steps, like every centigrade thermostat ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3593 "2024-10-24T16:34:28Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > That one’s likely to be unavoidable, because the temperatures that people are comfortable at vary considerably. If your friends set the temperature to suit you, they (and likely some of the other guests) will be miserable. It’s often unavoidable even in the same house – if my father was comfortable in a short sleeved shirt, my mother needed that sweater. Of course. I’m not the kind of asshole who would ask someone to adjust their own thermostat. I’m a totally different kind of asshole. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3594 "2024-10-24T21:55:55Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > I suppose it majorly depends on where you grew up. > > I grew up in the Tundra of Wisconsin, but more importantly, in an old drafty house with parents whose mantra was “Put on another layer!”. > > In the evenings you’ll find us watching Only Murders… with fleeces on, and snuggled under wool blankets. In my case it was coastal SoCal where lows were 50s overnight in the winter and highs were barely 80 in the summer. But at least it was damp, overcast, and breezy. I froze my ass off because parents thought home heating was unnecessary in “temperate” SoCal. And being smokers in the 1960s they drove around with the car windows open so us in the back were always in a cold high wind. Unlike you I did not adopt my parent’s ways. Instead I have rebelled by vowing to never experience cold again. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3595 "2024-10-24T22:25:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Unlike you I did not adopt my parent’s ways. Instead I have rebelled by vowing to never experience cold again. Same, kinda. My mother didn’t believe in air conditioning. She thought it was good for us to learn to adapt to being overheated. When i finally bought a house, i installed good AC, and i run it all summer. I feel a little bad about the energy use. But damn, i am SOooo much happier when I’m not too hot. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3596 "2024-10-24T22:37:42Z")
Preach it, Sis. Spend what it takes to be comfortable however you define that. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3597 "2024-10-25T02:13:47Z")
> [@Sandwich](#): > > If only it were possible for thermostats to operate in half degree steps, like every centigrade thermostat ever made. Aha! (I’ve never had one. Though I think I could possibly set my current one to centigrade.) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3598 "2024-10-25T02:38:27Z")
If you think that a thermostat is keeping your house within 1°, you are delusional. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3599 "2024-10-25T02:44:04Z")
One degree adjustments to my Fahrenheit thermostat actually do change how warm or cold it feels inside. Are you saying that you have to adjust it at least two degrees before any difference can be felt? If so, you’re wrong about that. I have my thermostat set to 70°, but here in the computer room specifically the thermometer right next to me says 71.0° and climbing as I continue to sit in here and use the computer. The thermometer on the kitchen table says 70.1° inside, 53.7° outside. Seems pretty accurate to me. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3600 "2024-10-25T03:00:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > In my case it was coastal SoCal where lows were 50s overnight in the winter and highs were barely 80 in the summer. Hey, that’s toasty warm! ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3601 "2024-10-25T03:07:27Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > If you think that a thermostat is keeping your house within 1°, you are delusional. And they say Americans don’t get irony. Harsh. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574/3602 "2024-10-25T03:14:20Z")
A correctly functioning thermostat has a multiple-degree (usually 2-4°F) swing. So, it will come on at 68, and turn off at 72. This is done to prevent compressor and furnace damage, and to increase efficiency. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=179) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xkcd-thread/854574.md?page=181)