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Why do people have such an aversion to cold weather?
Lived in Wisconsin for my entire life till 2011 when I finally packed up and moved south . It does get cold here, but no where near the arctic cold of Wisconsin.
Physically I don't think most Europeans are too different from natives of tropical countries at withstanding cold or hot temperatures*.
*Obviously personal comfort level may differ from the climate they're used to.
There doesn't seem to be much of a racial difference with regards to climate preference, but my point was that the European population has been well outside of the tropics for a long time, which pretty much disproves the argument that we are all tropical natives at heart the way that some great apes or zebras might be.
I despise cold weather. Maybe that's because of where I've lived: San Diego, Honolulu, San Antonio. But when I moved to Norfolk and DC, I LOATHED the cold. Now, I'm no fan of extreme heat (I can handle low 90s, but anything above is horrid), and I don't mind a little bit of humidity, but for me, its too gray and uncomfortable to be outside and enjoy it in wintertime. The snow was nice at first, but then it was just ugly, gray and messy, getting everywhere. I enjoyed having days off of school, but it got old and boring really fast. I really missed the days of going to the beach or pool, enjoying long walks outside, and sunshine. I do have SAD, so maybe that's why I hate cold weather.
You must not have a very big driveway if you can shovel it in 15 min. If snow falls overnight and it's a weekday, then you are kind of forced to shovel before your morning commute, which is not fun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Humid Subtropical
People just like to complain - nothing is ever good enough. Shoveling the driveway takes 15 minutes.. Less time than cutting the grass and a workout included. I know physical work frightens people these days though
I don't see anything wrong with the nudity argument. If I don't wear enough clothes, the cold's going to suck.
I consider people who hate the cold to be those who hate having to layer up for it.
As for Europeans and adapting to cold weather, I've never seen any accounts of Europeans of the past being naked or almost naked during the winters there. Would be interested if this has happened, however.
I think the "tropical species" argument is rendered moot by the existence of people who take well to cold weather, as well as the natives of Tierra del Fuego (who lived nearly nude in 30F weather).
Also, it should be noted that if you are of European ancestry, your ancestors have lived well outside the tropics for tens of thousands of years (often in downright arctic climates), which is plenty enough time for a population to adapt to a new climate. Also, the fact that almost all of the wealthiest and most highly developed countries are located outside the tropics demonstrates that humans thrive in colder climates at least as well as they do in tropical climates.
If climates outside of the tropics were so hostile to humans, man would have never left Africa, nor thrived so much outside of the tropics. I would argue that based on tens of thousands of years of habitation, it is fair to say that humans are a global species (climate-wise). Even if humans are a tropical species, so what? What practical difference does it make? Cold climate appears to present absolutely no obstacle to this "tropical species".
This whole nudity line is ridiculous. As for myself, I don't go outside without clothing even if it's 50C.
this doesn't matter much if you grew up your whole life in a tropical environment. Growing up in Florida rarely did I meet anybody who enjoyed cold weather, in fact, people from South Florida would complain how cold North Florida got.
Cold is a ****ing ambigoious term for most of the world.....
For someone in Singapore, 70 F is very very very very cold...
For someone in Honolulu, 60 F is quite cold..
For someone in Los Angeles, 50 is pretty cold...
For someone in New York City, 20 F degrees is "kinda cold"...
For someone in Minneapolis, 0 F is "just a little cold"
For someone in Winnipeg, -20 F is "just a slightly cold winter day"...
For someone in Fairbanks, Alaska, -40 F is a totally normal winter day
For someone working at the South Pole, -80 F is just standard in winter....
The word cold has a temperature range of over 170 F if you think about it....
While the word heat has a much narrower range....
Even people from cool summer climates wouldn't call it "hot" unless it was 70 F or more.....
People from desert climates define "hot" as over 110 F...
So the range of "hot" is only 40 F...
I dont think 70f is "very very very very" cold for anyone
Singapore's all time record low is 70 F...
I also knew this girl from Singapore who wore a jacket at 70 F and would go "it's sooooo cold" whenever it got less than 70
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. It does get cold here, but no where near the arctic cold of Wisconsin.
