Cold used to be colder.

We just experienced several bone-chilling days of sub-zero temperatures here in the frozen tundra of Minneapolis.  Temperatures bottomed out in the minus double digits and did not go above zero during the day.  While it was not pleasant to be outside, we weren’t really inconvenienced at all – which was kinda strange.

At the risk of eliciting some criticism for rank back-in-my-day-ism, it truly does feel different.

A generation ago, at 13 below, cars would not start (at least not without head-bolt heaters that you plugged in overnight); it would be impossible to get the inside of a car to warm up; we’d be warned of the hazards of black ice (frozen exhaust) on the road; we’d worry about our cars’ gas lines freezing up and would keep the tanks full and add gas-line antifreeze.

Through some miracle (or combination of miracles) of modern engineering, these are not issues any more.  Engine technology has improved, battery technology has improved, gasoline technology has improved.  Our lives in the cold have improved.

On the home front, the pipes in the house I grew up in would routinely freeze.  Fortunately, they were the old poisonous iron/lead pipes that did not easily burst, but we had to squeeze ourselves (and by “ourselves” I mean “me”) into the crawl space under the kitchen with some sort of direct-flame heat source in an effort either to thaw the pipes or burn down the house.  To prevent the pipes from freezing, my parents would leave the water dripping at a pretty good clip overnight.

These days, to prevent pipes from freezing, we use insulation.  I think we’ve gotten smarter about avoiding heat loss and insulating technology has improved.  I kinda miss wielding a torch, but am grateful when the water turns on and the car starts.