h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Had some friends around for New Years Eve (as one does). One of them was a rather elderly gentleman who has carried on his father's tradition of having a cocker spanielas a pet.
We have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, which was originally bred as a lapdog to keep the aristocracy warm in cold weather.

R. said that they used to define the severity of the weather by how many s were required to keep one warm.

I tend not to feel the too much, but I reckon it's one weather here tonight.

I only have one cat, but he's a damn fine foot warmer when you are curled up on the sofa! So it's one cat cold here in Cyprus tonight!

Well, since it is so cold that Mama Told Me Not To Come, I reckon it's a Three Dog Night.

(It is said that TDN were named because of the habit of using dogs to keep warm.)

PP

I've never been to bed with a dog...

... Yep ...

Woke up with a few though.



Ooh, two dogs cold.

Three s is about right, I've got big St. Bernards , a nice HotToddy & an electric blanket! Oh & I'm wearin' me woolies , it's -28.8 C out there!

This is, in fact, a very interesting piece of social history. Many years ago, eiderdowns of different weights were used by the well-to-do depending on how cold it was. The difference in weight and warmth was made by adding more duck feathers to stuff them.

The original question which one would have heard was, in fact, "How many ducks?" Meaning, how many ducks would it take to provide feathers for the eiderdown for a night like this.

As a result of in-breeding among the nobility bad hearing was quite common. This lead to the Earl of Sandwich mishearing it, and thinking someone said "How many dogs?"

This then started a fashion which persists in some places to the current day.

Then there's the TOG rating on duvets. That's obviously a result of somebody mis-hearing 'dog'. Right now we have a 10 dog duvet on the bed.

I guessed this Q would lead to some interesting replies

A 10 dog duvet? Travelodge use a 10.5 dog.

Q1. How do you test the thermal resistance of a dog?

Q2. Who get's the half dog?

Q3. How many dog's were harmed in the making of this thread?

Q4. Why are the men in white coats coming up the drive with a big net and a very poorly tailored jacket?

And is it the top half or bottom half of the dog?

It does rather depend on the size of the dog - Max (a Weimaraner), will snuggle his way in between the pair of us on the sofa (it's a big sofa...) and manage to warm both our feet simultaneously.

My mistake. It's a 9 dog duvet, and we have a 4.5 dog duvet for Spring.

2s today

Hit's bean 16 decrees celery hair two hay.

Sorry, I borrowed a dog, think it's still leaning English.

Deteriorated to 3 s now. There's falling, and the pavements and roads are very slippery

Mush!

I have to go to Kaunas, Lithuania next week. Last night it was -16C there. How many dogs will I have to take?

PP

Hmm, perhaps 5. So round it up to an even number and take 6 to be on the safe side

It dropped to three labradors or 42 Yorkshire terriers today*. Snow is falling and no longer melting.



*I know which unit of measurement I'd prefer.

can i borrow a large dog please, or even a few cats? an hapster? its ffffrrrrreeeeeezzzziiiinnnngg here!

mini

Well, a larger number of small s will be more effective at keeping you warm than one large .