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Comment by goodcanadian | Hacker News Reader

As a Canadian, 32F seems like an oddly high lower limit to me. Things should operate down to at least -40.

fascinating how a post about inclusive design manages to have a blind spot that it does not consider. A wonderful demonstration on why diverse backgrounds in engineering is important.

Right. Snow tires, 4WD, and engine block heaters should be standard equipment on cars because obviously things should be designed to handle every environment they might reasonably encounter.

Block heaters are pretty standard on many new cars sold in the colder parts of Canada. So are all season tires.

As a sibling comment points out, block heaters are pretty standard in much of Canada. 4WD is not universal, but if there is a 4WD version of a particular model available, dealers will have a hard time selling the 2WD variant because enough people really do think 4WD is better in the snow. Snow tires are just a waste in the summer. What you do is have two sets of tires and swap them out in spring and fall.

I'm confused by your statement, anyway. Are you saying things shouldn't be designed to handle every environment they might reasonably encounter?

Assuming you can keep something in the shade - does anywhere on Earth get to 140F beside inside forest fires, lightning bolts and volcanoes?

There is a substantial portion of the worlds population that lives months at a time where temperatures are regularly well below freezing.

Pavement.

A satellite dish doesn't do super well in the shade :)

Depends on the shade: http://www.dishcamo.com/fabric_dish_cover.htm

Line of sight to a satellite is only close to the sun for an hour or two a day, and only in certain locations on earth. It is entirely feasible to shade the rest of the sky.

My guess is that most people follow the directions to place the satellite dish with an unobstructed view of the sky. Thus, most of them are in the sun, regardless of how they are pointed and oriented.

Side note: “40 below” is approximately where C and F intersect.

As a result, that temperature being “effing cold” is something US Americans and Canadians readily agree on.

Great point. I think this highlights the importance of what we consider acceptable tolerances.

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