Dang, B! It’s Hot!

By Alicia Dorr in News on Jul 18, 2006 12:30PM

Unless you are one of those people who live in the deep, dank sewers, you’ve probably noticed that it’s been at or near 100 degrees for the past few days. Well, that’s because the sun is moving ever closer to the earth, and we’re all going to die.

That’s not even news. It’s just a lie. But the heat is causing a stir aside from making everyone sweat profusely – energy slinger Commonwealth Edison reported an all-time record-breaking demand for, well, energy in northern Illinois. It got so hot, in fact, that the organizers of the Gay Games had to go the extra mile to make sure competitors were keeping cool and hydrated.

With the heat index downtown yesterday pushing 111 degrees, enough people turned on their air conditioners and fans and that, along with regular electricity demand, today’s usage kicked the hell out of the previous record. Take that, August 21, 2003! But seriously, folks, we couldn’t have broken that record without you.

Something that had less to do with you and more to do with your carbon dioxide-spewing car (or someone else’s, whatever), however, is the fact that the first half of 2006 was the hottest on record since there have been records to record things like that, a.k.a. 1895. This six-month period has been 3.4 degrees warmer on average in the continental United States than any time since then.

While it’s obviously getting cooler this week, we still hope everyone made it out okay from the heat. And we hope that the air conditioners are still working, because now we’re all spoiled.

Image via Pjonline.com.