David Cotton

@drydan63 @GabeZZOZZ How on Earth do you figure that the UK isn't democratic? The UK ranks 18th; USA 34th; Ukraine 93rd; Russia 148th. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Econo…

@GabeZZOZZ None same as us Britain 0

What democracy is there in Ukraine?

@HMBohemond But that article also says that the UK had the greatest density of tornadoes of any country in the world...

@HMBohemond We in Britain get *small* tornadoes, and they can be quite damaging. e.g. : bbc.co.uk/weather/articl… And I mean small, by US standards.

I'm convinced that Europeans think tornados are "just bad wind storms" rather than actual fucking kaiju that just descend from the sky every now and then and utterly delete towns off the map.

@Apathy_Overdose @Cyn1calCrusader Yes, we are commenting on it; but we Brits comment on the weather constantly. It's a nice day. It's a wet day. It's mizzling. It's blowing a hoolie. It's a bit parky out. The weather's a constant source of conversation and amusement as we get so much of it! But not complaining.

@Apathy_Overdose @Cyn1calCrusader The ridiculousness of this situation is that people over here generally aren't complaining about the heat. The media are making a big thing of it, because they like stories. The biggest grumble I'm hearing is of the local shops running out of ice cream. The horror!

So, jokes aside, to understand why the heat is worse in the UK than say Arizona for example, the answer is quite long... First it's the Humidity, it's far higher here. The UK's island location and prevailing south-westerly winds bring moist sea air, so heatwaves are often humid rather than dry. In contrast, many of the hottest US states (e.g., Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico) have dry desert heat where sweat evaporates quickly, so you actually feel cooler despite higher temperatures. Even humid US regions (like the Southeast) usually have widespread air conditioning to offset it. Second, the buildings and Infrastructure that we have all are designed to Trap Heat, not Release It. UK homes are built for cold, damp winters: thick brick/stone walls, heavy insulation, small windows, and designs that retain warmth. During a heatwave, they turn into ovens, solar gain through windows builds up, and there is poor ventilation or passive cooling features like overhangs, shutters, or light-coloured roofs. Plus, poor air conditioning: Only about 5% of UK homes have AC (vs. ~90% in the US). It's not standard because it's rarely needed most of the year, but during spikes it's a nightmare. Also, retrofitting is expensive and tricky in old terraced houses or listed buildings. This extended to public transport, schools, offices, and even hospitals as they often lack cooling. Finally, most importantly, we have zero acclimatisation. Meaning it's just as hot at night as it is during the day. Britons aren't physiologically or culturally used to sustained heat. We're properly white! So, a sudden jump from typical UK summer temps feels extreme, and the body struggles more without gradual adaptation. Heatwaves often bring "tropical nights" (temps staying above 20 °C), so homes don't cool down overnight. You can't sleep, recover, or anything which just compounds fatigue, dehydration, etc. Drier US heat often cools significantly at night. That is all topped up with the fact that we have longer summer daylight at the UK's higher latitude meaning more hours of solar heating. Hope this long explanation that no one wanted clears this right up...

@M_Ferrari327 @wolfoftheriver Fair enough. Which is part of the issue here: even 'small' European countries can have radically different local climates.

@Discjirm @wolfoftheriver Pompei is not in Northern Italy Here the climate is continental whit hot, sweltering summer, because the Po Valley is trapped between the Alps and Appennines, air circulation is low and relative humidity regularly hovers around 70% to 90%. This create a heavy muggy,sultry effect

i will never say anything bad about british people complaining about hot weather ever again they have every right to complain about the heat because even my italian ass is going crazy in london in this heat

@ug_chelsea Russia is that evil. Fortunately for civilisation, it is also massively corrupt and incompetent.

⚡This would be Kiev 🇺🇦 with 2 million civilians dead if Russia 🇷🇺 was half as evil as the Western media says we are.

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 It's just a shame it's in Yorkshire. ;)

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 I shouldn't be saying this as a native of Derbyshire, but Yorkshire's lovely. If you get the chance, go. York in particular is spectacular: from the Minster to the walls around the city; the Viking centre to the railway museum. I love the place.

Is America the only 1st world country?

@joyinbecomingp1 @ByuSome The point is that people are not stupid. People build infrastructure to cope with the usual weather they get, not the rare extremes. Because coping with the extremes becomes very expensive, very rapidly. Hence why we occasionally have melting roads and buckled rails. But rarely

@ByuSome I have some friends in the UK. And their reasoning on this is that their heatwaves don't last long. Its probably about a few weeks every year, so they just live off of fans and cold showers. However, I couldn't do that lol I need it a comfortable 68 degrees year round

So Europe can't use AC in the summer, but can they use fans and put ice in their water, or do they go to jail for that?

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Have you ever been to the UK?

@Discjirm @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Hope restore gains more power regardless

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 We have heating to save us from the extreme cold; which is also much more frequent. The original argument was essentially: "Why don't those stoopid Brits have AC. Ha ha ha." And I'm just trying to point the reasons why we generally don't are reasonable.

@Discjirm @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 That wasn’t the argument That is also a stupid argument as having the AC spares you from both the rare heat and the extreme cold It’s Also adorable All the nonsense your government and media has sold you and you are willing to die on the same hill you’ve already lost

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 And that picture shows why we generally don't have AC: we don't get warm enough often enough to make it worthwhile.

@Discjirm @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Current conditions You’ve been lied to, it’s hot and so humid that I get sticky walking outside. My AC is permanently at 72

@BrennanLandry9 @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Then instead of being rude, why not just explain?

@Discjirm @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Louisiana native here, you don’t know shit.

@Gaudd @wiley_inc @ClarkeMicah inflicted on the Ukrainian people by a Soviet government that cared f-all for them. Hence the Holodomor. And the current Russian government would treat them no better - and is treating them no better in the occupied territories.

@Gaudd @wiley_inc @ClarkeMicah I'll make this quite simple for you: you dislike Banderas because he was a Nazi. Fair enough. Yet fascism and communism are freakily similar in the end results - and I see no aghast horror in your words against what the Russians did. Banderas et al were a reaction to the evils

.@discjirm. 1/2 I don’t ignore it. Some Ukrainians (generally western nationalists) are keen on the war. Many Ukrainians have left the country. Those in the middle bear it because they must but never wanted it and voted for Zelensky because he promised them peace.

@ythrthx2 Only head of school (senior boy) could grow a beard or get married.

What’s the most unnecessary rule your school had?

@BSoulBurgers @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Thanks. But I'm unsure that heatstroke is one of the leading causes of death in Europe. And it definitely is not in the UK. Many factors play into this; not just climate, but housing styles, culture, cost, and many more. We could afford AC, but it's simply not worth it.

@Discjirm @myxburneracct @bumbadum14 Fair play, I apologize for being as hostile as I was. It’s just incredibly annoying when Europeans try to justify reasons for not having AC when heatstroke is one of the leading causes of death across the pond. Your country and the EU can modernize on that front, but they refuse.

@eugenevmaim @Zachary02480085 @Chair_Ichiban @theyaoiseme So yes, the definitions do matter. What you think of as a 'house' might be different to what others think, and have radically different cooling and heating needs.

@eugenevmaim @Zachary02480085 @Chair_Ichiban @theyaoiseme Definitions matter; and if you don't understand that then the conversation is pointless. I live in a three-storey townhouse. There is little airflow between floors for draught reasons, and therefore you would need AC units on each floor. Whereas a bungalow may just require one.