Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

One of the very real threats to people of the far northern and southern latitudes is extreme cold. While centuries of human experience in wintry climes have taught us how to dress and shelter ourselves against frigid weather, sometimes over-exposure to cold occurs. When it does, the human body responds first by shivering, then by rapidly shutting down its complex functions.

The freezing person becomes uncoordinated, unable to perform otherwise simple tasks such as zipping a jacket or managing a pair of gloves. As the core temperature drops, speech slurs and even walking becomes difficult.

We call this condition hypothermia, a Greek term that means "below heat," referring to the body's plummeting core temperature following over-exposure to cold.

But in Scandinavia centuries ago, one so affected by frigid temperatures was called klumsig, meaning "benumbed with cold."

The word entered the English language in the 17th century as clumsy, which originally meant the same as its Germanic antecedent. Gradually it lost its association with cold, and clumsy has since acquired the meaning "awkward, graceless, coarse" -- a feeling that anyone who has suffered the effects of hypothermia can certainly understand!

Radio Script > Clumsy