ever - was 40.8 degrees Celsius (105.4 F) set earlier this summer in the Saarland. It was that scorcher that prompted the ADAC to issue its warning about the temperature shock that faces air-conditioned motorists on a hot day. A really severe shock could result in "circulatory disruption" (Kreislaufstoerung), which is an all-purpose illness that strangely affects only Germans and is wholly unknown elsewhere in the world. In other countries when you feel like taking a day off from work, you call the office and say you've "picked up a bug" or are just "feeling a bit under the weather". In Germany, all you have to do is say your circulatory system is disrupted and your boss will tell you to stay home, by all means, rather than have you pass this mysterious malady on to a colleague. In an extreme case, Germans can even have what is called a "Kreislaufkollaps" (circulatory collapse). This is a condition very often associated with prominent figures in business and politics who are suddenly found out to be spies or embezzlers or paedophiles. As reporters clamour for a statement, a spokesman will emerge to say that that no comment will be forthcoming owing to the fact that the subject of these scurrilous allegations has suffered a total collapse of his circulatory system. To appreciate the medical implications of car air-conditioning in Germany, you have to understand that, in addition to unknown circulatory disruptions, Germans also have a field of science called "medical meteorology". Medical meteorologists are people with degrees in both medicine and weather forecasting who tell you how tomorrow's weather is going to affect your health. These specialists abound in the German media, with newspapers and local radio full of weather-related medical advice. A new digital TV health and wellness channel, Focus Gesundheit, opens its primetime viewing schedule each evening at 8 p.m. with an in-depth "Gesundheits-Wetter" report in which a smiling weather forecaster explains how certain high pressure systems cause headaches and high blood pressure while a low pressure system invariably causes mental depression - not to mention rain. So when the temperature topped 40 degrees this summer, the nation braced for possible Kreislaufkollaps, with Germany's biggest tabloid, Bild newspaper, running a banner headline screaming "Millionen haben Kopfweh!" (Millions have headaches!). Everyone knew what THAT meant. A headache is a harbinger of Kreislaufkollaps. Armed with this sort of information, Germans set out in cars and on public transport, wary of any sudden breeze or draft of cool air could spell disaster for their circulatory systems.
