: How cold is it?  It is so cold I saw a lawyer on the street the other 
: day, and he had his hands in his own pockets"
     
------------------------------------------------------------
                     HOW COLD IS IT?
                An annotated thermometer
------------------------------------------------------------
     
           (degrees Fahrenheit, then Celsius)
     
  +50 / +10
    * New York tenants turn on the heat
    * Wisconsinites plant gardens
     
  +40 / +4
    * Californians shiver uncontrollably 
    * Wisconsinites sunbathe
     
  +35 / +2
    * Italian cars don't start
     
  +32 / 0
    * Distilled water freezes
     
  +30 / -1
    * You can see your breath
    * You plan a vacation in Florida
    * Politicians begin to worry about the homeless 
    * Wisconsinites eat ice cream
     
  +25 / -4
    * Boston water freezes
    * Californians weep pitiably
    * Cat insists on sleeping on your bed with you
     
  +20 / -7
    * Cleveland water freezes
    * San Franciscans start thinking favorably of LA 
    * Green Bay Packers fans put on T-shirts
     
  +15 / -10
    * You plan a vacation in Acapulco
    * Cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you 
    * Wisconsinites go swimming
     
  +10 / -12
    * Politicians begin to talk about the homeless 
    * Too cold to snow
    * You need jumper cables to get the car going
     
  0 / -18
    * New York landlords turn on the heat
    * Sheboygan brats grilled on the patio, yum!
     
  -5 / -21
    * You can hear your breath
    * You plan a vacation in Hawaii
     
  -10 / -23
    * American cars don't start
    * Too cold to skate
     
  -15 / -26
    * You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo 
    * Miamians cease to exist
    * Wisconsinites lick flagpoles
     
  -20 / -29
    * Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you
    * Politicians actually do something about the homeless 
    * People in LaCrosse think about taking down screens
     
  -25 / -32
    * Too cold to kiss
    * You need jumper cables to get the driver going 
    * Japanese cars don't start
    * Milwaukee Brewers head for spring training
     
  -30 / -34
    * You plan a two-week hot bath
    * Pilsener freezes
    * Bock beer production begins
    * Wisconsinites shovel snow off roof
     
  -38 / -39
    * Mercury freezes
    * Too cold to think
    * Wisconsinites button top button
     
  -40 / -40
    * Californians disappear
    * Car insists on sleeping in your bed with you 
    * Wisconsinites put on sweaters
     
  -50 / -46
    * Congressional hot air freezes
    * Alaskans close the bathroom window 
    * Green Bay Packers practice indoors
     
  -60 / -51
    * Walruses abandon Aleutians
    * Sign on Mount St. Helens: "Closed for the Season" 
    * Wisconsinites put gloves away, take out mittens
    * Boy Scouts in Eau Claire start Klondike Derby
     
  -70 / -57
    * Glaciers in Central Park
    * Hudson residents replace diving boards with hockey nets
    * Green Bay snowmobilers organize trans-lake race to Sault Ste.
Marie
     
  -80 / -62
    * Polar bears abandon Baffin Island
    * Rhinelander Birkebeiner
    * Girl Scouts in Eau Claire start Klondike Derby
     
  -90 / -68
    * Edge of Antarctica reaches Rio de Janeiro
    * Lawyers chase ambulances for no more than 10 miles
    * Minnesotans migrate to Wisconsin thinking it MUST be warmer
     
  -100 / -73
    * Santa Claus abandons North Pole
    * Wisconsinites pull down earflaps
     
  -173 / -114
    * Ethyl alcohol freezes
    * Only Door County cherries usable in brandy Manhattans
     
  -297 / -183
    * Oxygen precipitates out of atmosphere
    * Microbial life survives only on dairy products
     
  -445 / -265
    * Superconductivity
     
  -452 / -269
    * Helium becomes a liquid
     
  -454 / -270
    * Hell freezes over
     
  -456 / -271
    * Illinois drivers drop below 85 MPH on I-90
     
  -458 / -272
    * Incumbent politician renounces a campaign contribution
     
  -4.01 / -273 (Absolute Zero)
    * All atomic motion ceases
    * Wisconsinites allow as to how it's getting a mite nippy