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Warning: I wrote this blog in 2007. That is a long time ago, especially on the internet. My opinions may have changed since then. Technological progress may have made this information completely obsolete. Proceed with caution.

Though it may not be recognized by the American Medical Association (yet!), frigidamanus supermus is a serious medical affliction which is estimated to affect over two hundred thousand Americans every year. It is common among individuals who spend much of their time operating computers; particularly vulnerable are employees at workplaces that maintain a low temperature due to an abundance of heat-generating computer hardware.

Deriving from the Latin for “cold hand above mouse,” the condition is marked by a significant temperature gradient between the hand which operates the mouse (typically the right hand) and the other hand, with the mouse-operating hand being colder. This is caused by the tendency of the computer operator to use the mouse more frequently than the keyboard, while keeping the other hand close to the warmth of the face and/or abdomen.

The outlook is grim: a staggering 98 percent of FS sufferers will survive for no more than 85 years after symptoms are first experienced.