[HN Gopher] Some common geographic mental misplacements
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       Some common geographic mental misplacements
        
       Author : ohjeez
       Score  : 7 points
       Date   : 2022-10-29 19:59 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
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       | spacedcowboy wrote:
       | Yeah, as a Brit in the USA, I've pointed out on a couple of times
       | to friends/colleagues that literally _everywhere_ in the UK is
       | north of literally _everywhere_ in the contiguous 48 states -
       | Alaska is a cheat-code!
       | 
       | This usually comes up when the conversation turns to why no-one
       | in Europe (mainly the UK, since they know I'm a Brit) has air-
       | conditioning... That's right; we don't have it because it's
       | bloody cold there, a lot of the time. In fact our Summers are
       | only temperate because of the Gulf Stream (Atlantic Conveyor, if
       | you prefer). If that "turns off", the UK (and a fair amount of
       | Europe) is in dire straits.
        
         | Mordisquitos wrote:
         | I wouldn't say that the reason people in the UK haven't got air
         | conditioning is because it's "bloody cold". Rather, it's
         | because it's simply never bloody hot. I would even argue that
         | the UK in general is _less_ cold than most of the US, for
         | example the North East and Midwest.
         | 
         | However, I would go even further. The reason why no-one in
         | Europe (for a loose definition of "no-one") has air
         | conditioning is not so much the climate, but more heavily
         | influenced by historical, cultural, and architectural reasons.
         | 
         | I'll bet that most current American homes were built after air
         | conditioning was invented, their usual construction materials
         | mean they are rarely well insulated, and single family homes
         | are generally fully exposed to the Sun.
         | 
         | Compare that for instance with Spain, which one may assume
         | would be hot enough to need air conditioning, with a climate
         | comparable to that of California.
         | 
         | Some homes do have it of course, but it is never assumed by
         | default. Firstly, most of the population lives in flats, which
         | mean their homes are less exposed to the Sun (except attics),
         | and construction materials are generally sturdier and better
         | insulators by default. Secondly, old homes in villages have
         | been there long before air conditioning was a glint in the ice
         | cream man's eye, and thus have been designed over time to be
         | better protected from the heat. Modern houses, even if they may
         | be designed to accomodate potential air conditioning, are still
         | more or less influenced by these ideas to an extent.
         | 
         | On the cultural aspect, as air conditioning has never been a
         | given, people have learnt to adapt their lifestyles and
         | expectations to living with the heat, and don't instinctively
         | feel the need to have air conditioning blasting all the time.
         | Of course people do like it and appreciate it when available,
         | but it simply doesn't have the cultural expectation that it has
         | in the US.
        
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