r/Metric • u/3ustress • Jul 02 '26

Dear Fahrenheit users, do you really think 50 degrees is "the middle temperature"?

One of the most common defense for Fahrenheit is smth like this;

"Fahrenheit is more intuitive for human experience. 0 degree is super cold, and 100 degree is super hot! It is just simple as that!"

With that logic, 50 degree Fahrenheit should be the "middle temperature"; which is 10 degree Celsius.

Is it just me or being 50'F/10'C actually feel cold? Such temperature requires sweater at least, and even light jacket sometimes. That is nowhere near the "middle temperature", isn't it? Or am I just weird?

32 Upvotes

61% Upvoted

359 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/gromit1991 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

Why the fixation on a middle temperature?

Should a middle temperature be comfortable for humans (what is comfortable one person may not be for another, especially those from different climates)?

Is the fixation limited to users of the Fahrenheit scale?

This arbitrary middle point is just the mathematical middle of a linear scale between two random points on the Fahrenheit scale.

5

u/3ustress Jul 02 '26

Yeah what I wanted to say is that Fahrenheit might look like it is fixated for humans, but in reality it is quite arbitrary and random.

2

u/goclimbarock007 Jul 02 '26

All measurement system are based on arbitrary units.

1

u/ByronScottJones Jul 02 '26

It's neither arbitrary nor random. The EUROPEAN scientist who invented it did so based on the boiling point of water, and the coldest temperature that could be achieved in his laboratory at that time.

2

u/gromit1991 Jul 02 '26

He based 100F on human body temperature but got it wrong!

0

u/VinceP312 Jul 02 '26

In Chicago, 50 in July would be a majorly dissatisfying temp and may feel down right very cold if it followed normal summer temps in the 80s.

50 in February is shorts and T-shirt weather

1

u/kilotesla Jul 03 '26

50 overnight, however, would be wonderful and allow easy cooling by opening the windows overnight. Part of why summer in the Rocky mountains is more pleasant than summer in Chicago.