CTA Tattler

I see this all the time here too. Why, people? I'm not originally from Chicago so it was quite strange for me to walk outside in warm muggy morning weather wearing a sleeveless blouse and get strange stares from people wearing sweaters and coats! Sometimes the bus is extremely cold inside but still...why the coats?

Perhaps the passengers with jean jackets, long sleeves, etc. are on their way to an office that's ACed to a frigid temp. Although I enjoy an overly cooled work environment, many of my coworkers wear sweaters or shawls throughout the year to stay warm in the office.

I'm not surprised. The blogger is probably describing me or one of my coworkers. The air conditioning in the office is set to around 65 degrees so we freeze until we can step outside for lunch to thaw out.

How could I not think of it like that when I too work in a freeze box of an office? That explains it...I guess, except for the people wearing down jackets and other heavy coats. I carry a light sweater in my bag rather than wear it outside on warm mornings though.

Women are generally colder then men [temperture wise] specially when wearing sleeveless tops. If they are cold, don't sit by the window seat were most of the cold air blows.

There are many possible explanations. Every one is different in their ability to regulate body temperature. People without much fat do not have the built in insulation. Also consider people who have lost a lot of weight. They not only lack the fat to keep them warm but their internal mechanisms are out of whack. My little sister grew up heavy and then lost it all in her 20's. As a 45 year old adult she is always cold. She moved to Houston where the AC gets cranked beginning in Feburary and she keeps an electic lap blanket in the car so she can keep warm when her husband has the AC on. She usually comes home to Chicago in July or August and always wears long pants and keeps a jacket with her.

Also consider older people. Their ability to regulate internal heat is also often diminished.

So alas, we're all different (luckily)

It's also pretty cool today.

For a summer morning, it wasn't warm or muggy. It was refreshing.

Hey guys, I should have made this clear in the original post:

I'm well aware that many offices are very cool due to over-AC usage. That explains HAVING a jeans jacket with you, but not actually WEARING it outdoors when it's hot and muggy and approaching 80 degrees at 7:30 am.

And no Dan, I wasn't talking about this morning, when a light sweater or jacket might have been preferred as one walked out the door.

Maybe these are the opposite people to the idiots who stand on the El platforms (usually men, it seems to me) in the middle of a January snow storm with nothing on but a light coat--no scarf, no hat, no earmuffs, no gloves. They always look like they're trying to be tough, but I just think they look like numbskulls. I wonder which is worse, medically speaking: frostbite and hypothermia, or heat rash and sunstroke? :-)

Well, I haven't worn winter coats or scarves in summer, but I have worn long-sleeved shirts and jean jackets. It's partly based on what's in the laundry basket, and also an inordinate sense of modesty/dysmorphic body thing. I'm chubby. Many others are much heavier ad seem to be much more comfortable in their own skin, but I really do not like to show much skin - it could only serve to gross people out (I think) so...no short sleeves or sleeveless tops for me. Good deodorant and a handkerchief for my brow when I get on the train work just fine.

Schizophrenics also have trouble staying warm.