# You know it's cold when... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 14, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732 "2005-01-14T16:34:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/21 "2005-01-14T20:30:43Z")
when you… umm… er… Haaaaaaaang on! I live in Florida, so I guess I don’t know s\*\*\*… (I went outside in shorts and T-shirt to walk my dog this morning…) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/22 "2005-01-14T23:42:47Z")
When you shower in the morning, don’t dry your hair, walk the 10 minutes to work, and realize your hair has frozen! It happened to me this morning. But I’ve felt colder since I’ve lived here. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Wing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@Little\_Wing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Wing)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/23 "2005-01-15T00:03:52Z")
I have nothing to contribute here except to say I’m glad as hell to be living in the south! Boots freezing to the ground, hair freezing on your head, the inside of your nose instantly dries up…damn! I can’t even begin to comprehend those kinds of temperatures. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/24 "2005-01-15T00:11:36Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > -33°C yesterday morning; -42°C with windchills. No shit. I still walked half an hour to work, cause I ain’t askeered of no cold.😃 Was about the same when I left not long after 7 for school. _shivers_ Thanks for reminding me, I’ve finally gotten warm. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/25 "2005-01-15T00:32:39Z")
:eek: And my boss was griping because it was 36 F this morning. We are so spoiled. I didn’t gripe. It meant I got to wear my purty new scarf. ---
**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:** [January 15, 2005, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/26 "2005-01-15T01:11:02Z")
Your dick retracts so far you need to coax it back out with a hairdryer and a pair of tweezers. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/27 "2005-01-15T01:14:14Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > Minneapolis is at -15 today. To tell the truth, it’s not that bad. It’s sunny and the winds are light. Not a big deal. The record for today is -32 so it’s nowhere near as cold as it could be. That’s what I was thinking. -15 isn’t a walk in the park, of course, but as long as you’re dressed for it it’s not so bad. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/28 "2005-01-15T11:48:56Z")
You try to start your car in the morning, it turns over slowly and only once. You swear you heard it say, “Nope”. There is a crack in the window 3 rooms away and you can feel the draft. If you venture outside, you can hear the electric meters running. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/29 "2005-01-15T14:04:09Z")
You know it’s cold when only telemarkers are on the hill on Friday night. We had the place to ourselves, and had a blast with all the new snow that fell earlier in the week when it was much warmer. Skiing last night in -34C/-29F before factoring the wind chill taking it down to -54C/-65F. And loving every minute of it out on the slopes, where I’m heading again in about ten minutes. Thunder Bay – a winter wonderland on top of Superior. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/30 "2005-01-15T14:17:22Z")
I’m still _waiting_ for it to get cold! _mutters incoherently about Seattlites wearing big puffy winter jackets and sherpa boots (sherpa boots!) without a hint of snow… a minor threat of a little sprinkling of snow that Fox news is calling “Deep Freeze”, but HA! I, as a Canadian, laugh at this foolishness - 28 degrees? Big hairy deal! Where’s the cold, people? Where’s the reason for me to bust out the hot cocoa and cuddle up under a fleece blanket? Sherpa boots, fercryinoutloud!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/31 "2005-01-15T14:17:29Z")
I lived in Minneapolis one winter when for the month of January the temps were in the -30s (and there were a couple of those days when they said not to go outside for more than a few minutes) – I would have to take off my glasses and tuck them into my coat to walk to the University, because the heat from my eyes would create a thin layer of ice on the lenses, and I was always afraid they would break (the lenses, not my eyes.) The funny thing is, when it warmed up to the +20s, everyone broke out shorts and lightweight denim coats – really _did_ feel warm in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/32 "2005-01-15T14:37:39Z")
Although my home is in Vancouver, where it never actually gets cold, I have been living in Thunder Bay for almost eight months while I go to school here. Now, I have been exposed to cold before, while working in such places as the arctic and Fort MacMurray, but have never had to deal with it for such an extended period of time. What I find most infuriating is the realization of exactly how often during the course of a day I move from outdoors to indoors, or vise versa. It is true that there is no such thing as inhospitable weather - only inappropriate clothing; however, if you care to dress for a minus 50 C evening, it is a twenty minute production just getting dressed, and then the second you step inside, you need to shed everything and carry it around lest you sweat to death. The obvious compromise is not dressing quite as warmly, and then making the mad dash from house to car to office, etc., which is IMO what makes living in this climate so unpleasant. I came home last night to find that some prankster had squirted water in my front door lock. De-icer wasn’t working to clear it, so I had to get a blowtorch (luckily I had tools in the truck. Keep in mind, as per the above I was underdressed) to heat the lock and doorknob to melt and evaporate the water, and then spray with de-icer/lubricant to get it to open. These kind of problems I never had to deal with in Vancouver. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/33 "2005-01-15T14:54:41Z")
**Ms Boods** ’s comment reminded me of this one- You know it’s cold when you walk inside and your _contacts_ frost up. Yeah it’s cold here in Minneapolis, but I truly admire what **tisiphone** and other Canadian dopers are going through. And at first I forgot that you were talking Celsius! (Not that it matters at -40 😉 ) For southern Dopers, here’s an experience. When the temperature drops low enough, the crystalline structure of snow actually changes and it squeaks when you walk on it. Cool stuff! **Fuji** , I’m sorry you got hit by an idiot prankster. I had never heard of that one before. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/34 "2005-01-15T15:32:13Z")
> [@Mycroft H.](#): > > For southern Dopers, here’s an experience. When the temperature drops low enough, the crystalline structure of snow actually changes and it squeaks when you walk on it. Cool stuff! Another extreme cold sound is snow “ringing.” What do I mean? Well, the wind packed the snow so hard on the front walk that when I went to shovel it off, it came up in chunks. And when I threw the chunks to the side, they “rang” when they landed. “Rang” may not be the best word to use, but it’s the closest I can come to describing the sound. Hang in there, western Canadians. According to the Weather Network forecast I saw earlier today, we’ll be above freezing next week. But I’ll believe that when I feel it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/35 "2005-01-15T15:52:42Z")
When peeing outdoors you have to snap off the frozen urine stream every few feet. > [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > The thing I notice the most is how things sound different. Sound travels better in cold air and when it’s really cold you can hear really well. Yea. Yesterday about 7am i was walking to work (-8F) and a medical helicopter flew overhead and it sounded like i was 2 feet from it, you could hear the pounding of the blades and the sound was immense. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/36 "2005-01-15T16:44:42Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Hang in there, western Canadians. According to the Weather Network forecast I saw earlier today, we’ll be above freezing next week. But I’ll believe that when I feel it. That’s not much hope for eastern Canadians now though, is it? _growls at roommates to stop opening the balcony door_ ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/37 "2005-01-15T17:25:17Z")
Owwwww, it’s cold out today. You know it’s cold when your nose freezes off and your fingers feel like they’ve gone and vanished on you. Oh, and my hat gets tipped off to all the central Canucks out there. -35 degrees? YOW! ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/38 "2005-01-15T18:07:54Z")
It was so cold that when I tried to talk with my wife when we were both outside, the words froze as soon as I said them. She had to take them inside and heat them on the stove to find out what I was saying. [Cue rimshot.] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/39 "2005-01-16T00:43:33Z")
\*\*you know it’s cold when … \*\* - you have to break the ice in the diaper pail - your ink pen freezes up while taking notes during ROTC inspection well, where I am, at least. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732/40 "2005-01-16T02:58:58Z")
… **Qadgop** doesn’t want to go in the hot tub. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-its-cold-when/284732.md?page=3)