Two little near-to-solstice bits. But first, longitudes; they are are good index of afternoon darkness now. NYC, 40; Toronto 43-4; Berlin about 52; Helsinki, 60. In '88 I was in Helsinki in mid-or late November. Totally dark and scary at 3 in the afternoon. I recall talking with a local and saying how bad it felt to me. I said, "I guess you folks are used to it". He looked at me with a long hard and wondrous stare and replied "ARE YOU CRAZY?"
The other bit is the opposite. I repeated the anecdote above to my former colleague, Joy Cohnstaedt, who had earned her spurs in Northern Saskatchewan, living way up there with indigenous communities. She attested that it was nothing like that for them; they enjoyed the dark winter with a lifestyle that was pretty close to hibernation. David
Two little near-to-solstice bits. But first, longitudes; they are are good index of afternoon darkness now. NYC, 40; Toronto 43-4; Berlin about 52; Helsinki, 60. In '88 I was in Helsinki in mid-or late November. Totally dark and scary at 3 in the afternoon. I recall talking with a local and saying how bad it felt to me. I said, "I guess you folks are used to it". He looked at me with a long hard and wondrous stare and replied "ARE YOU CRAZY?"
The other bit is the opposite. I repeated the anecdote above to my former colleague, Joy Cohnstaedt, who had earned her spurs in Northern Saskatchewan, living way up there with indigenous communities. She attested that it was nothing like that for them; they enjoyed the dark winter with a lifestyle that was pretty close to hibernation. David