Bit nippy...

[Rev. Rye]

Apparently, one Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736) proposed a scale in 1724, upon which the one we all know and love is based.

The way I was taught about it, it was originally based on two extremes: The zero end was supposed to be the coldest temperature he could record in his hometown of Danzig in one winter, and 100 degrees was supposed to be his body temperature.

Of course, apparently, there was another explanation; he based it on another scale where brine freezes at zero degrees, water freezes and melts at 7.5 degrees, body temperature is 22.5, and water boils at 60 degrees. He planned to multiply them all by four, but, eventually, he decided it would look better if the freezing point of water was 32 degrees, and body temperature was 96 degrees, so the distance could be 64 degrees. Eventually, it was modified a little so that water could melt at exactly 32 degrees and boil at 212 degrees, and, finally, we end up with a temperature of 98.6.

Now, back in Skokie, the temperature is -9.6 Fahrenheit.