Monday, December 13, 2010

25 below in Toronto

It’s noon here in Toronto, and 25 degrees below zero, Celsius, with the wind-chill.

That’s 13 below, Fahrenheit.

Just how cold is that?

Cold enough that I could go sit in my kitchen freezer to warm up.

The sliding doors of our van remained frozen shut even after the car’s heater had been on full-blast for 20 minutes this morning.

My car was completely warm and de-iced before minyan this morning, but when I left minyan I needed ten minutes of full-blast heat before the windshield was clear.

I left my daily bottle of chocolate Boost Plus on my windshield before minyan, and came out to find a bottle of chocolate ice cream. [That was intended, though.]

And winter hasn’t even arrived yet.

Of course, it could be worse; we could be in Chicago, which I understand has been frozen and snowed in.

Looking on the bright side, here are some good points about the cold:
1. It’s too cold to snow. [No, that’s not really true.]
2. The cold keeps people in beis medrash longer. [That’s true.]
3. It encourages Torontonians to think more seriously about aliyah. [I hope that’s true.]
4. And… Umm….

That’s about it for the advantages of the cold.

Stay warm, folks.

7 comments:

  1. it is 11 above zero F in Chicago. Don't know what you're talking about.

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  2. According to weather.com you have a wind chill of 0 Fahrenheit. That's not frozen?

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  3. Here in Rechovot the temperature has never gone below zero in the last 15 years at least; (since we've been living here). For North American Jews who don't like cold winters I've got a great idea. There is this little country on the Mediterranean with mild winters, great scenery and a stable economy among other more religious and cultural attractions. Highly recommended for Rebbitzins and their husbands, Rashei Kollelim etc

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  4. That sort of cold leads to babies.
    although in my case it would lead to a plane, car or train to get out of there.

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  5. That is indeed pretty cold.

    I remember when I was offered a job in Winnipeg. They flew me up from Texas during the summer. They showed me some of the homes within about 1/2 mile of the school and shul. I pointed out that I was certainly okay walking a mile or more. "Oh no! If you stay outside around here more than ten minutes on some winter days, you could die!"

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  6. Tip for the future - when EVERY single motor vehicle you see has an electric plug hanging out by the radiator, it gets REALLY cold there in winter. There's a reason that every car I saw in Winnipeg had a block heater installed.

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  7. When I was in Toronto, our first Chanuka I set up my oil Chanukia outside our front door in the morning (we had a glass vestibule).

    Came home from work to find a oil-popsicle outside my door, I fogot that oil might just freeze in -25.

    I guess that's why Jews should come home, never had a problem with my chanukia freezing here in Midi'in :)

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