Stephen Colbert Reveals Why the Extreme Heat Wave and Global Warming 'Explains Florida' | Video - TheWrap
Stephen Colbert Reveals Why the Extreme Heat Wave and Global Warming 'Explains Florida' | Video
During his monologue on Wednesday’s “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert spent some time talking about the extreme heat wave affecting large regions of the country this week. And when he discussed how research shows that heat can reduce cognition and cause a spike in crime, Colbert noted that this “explains Florida.” Zing.
“Around the country, the extreme heat waves keeps on waving today,” Colbert said as he began the topic.
“Caribou, Maine reached an unofficial all time record high of 103 degrees,” he continued, joking that this “explained Stephen King’s new book, ‘Misery 2: The Backs of My Knees Are so Sweaty.’”
But, he continued, “this heat isn’t just bad for the planet. It’s also bad for the brain. Because according to a new study, the hotter it gets, the harder it is to find your words.”
“Wow. Cucumber,” Colbert joked.
“The study analyzed political speeches from eight countries and found that when it’s hot, speakers tend to use shorter words, and that the simpler language politicians used is equivalent to losing half a month of education,” the CBS host went on. “That makes no surprise. We all remember a Reagan’s summertime speech, ‘Mr. goopy name, make wall go boom,” which of course was a riff on Ronald Reagans famous “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech.
“It’s not just just that the words get worse, it’s also everything else,” Colbert continued. “Because hot weather can result in lower scores on math tests, as well as higher rates of aggression, ranging from mean spirited behavior to violent crime. Well, that explains Florida.”
“It’s the heat and the humidity,” he added.
“As everybody knows that hot weather inspires violence. Remember this classic Nelly hit?” Colbert asked before an edited clip of Nelly’s “Hot in Here” played with the lyrics changed to, “I am getting so hot, I’m gonna stab the mailman.”
Watch the full monologue above.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.