Chicago Humor: The Cold Snap

I remember as a child playing out on a snowy playground in the winter and thinking " Gee, it's a little cold today."

When I got home it turned out the high for the day had been 5 degrees above zero. That night it went down to about - 25 below.

That was not typical winter weather, but not uncommon..

My first poem I wrote in kindergarten in Chicago was about how a young child tried to get across a slushy, ice packed avenue in the city...where the high curbs added to the adventure in making the crossing trickier..

Chicago Temperature Conversion Chart

60° F: Arizonans shiver uncontrollably; people in Chicago sunbathe.

50° F: New Yorkers try to turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant
gardens.

40° F: Italian & English cars won't start; people in Chicago drive
with the windows down.

32° F: Distilled water freezes; Lake Michigan's water gets thicker.

20° F: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves and wool hats;
people in Chicago throw on a flannel shirt.

15° F: New York landlords finally turn up the heat; people in Chicago
have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0° F: All the people in Phoenix die. Chicagoans close the windows.

10° below zero: Californians fly away to Mexico . The Girl Scouts in
Chicago are selling cookies door to door.

25° below zero: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out
their winter coats.

40° below zero: Washington DC runs out of hot air; people in Chicago
let the dogs sleep indoors.

100° below zero: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get
frustrated because they can't start 'da car.'

460° below zero: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin
scale); people in Chicago start saying, 'cold 'nuff for ya?'

500° below zero: Hell freezes over. The Cubs win the World Series

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2011/01/04/1537825/chicago-temperature-conversion.html#storylink=cpy