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Need Lodging In Calgary? Try Renting An Igloo

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

All right. Audie, I got a question for you. Guess how cold it has been in parts of the Canadian province of Alberta this week.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

All right. I'll bite. How cold?

KELLY: It was so cold that with the wind chill, the temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit was the same. I did not even know that could happen, but apparently it does at 40 below zero.

CARLY STAGG: It is dastardly cold, so cold your feet just are numb with pain.

CORNISH: Which, says Carly Stagg of CTV News in Calgary, is not the sort of weather in which you'd want to seriously consider an offering on an Airbnb posted just last weekend.

STAGG: Spend a winter night in an igloo. This guy built an igloo in his backyard in Calgary, and he says it's the quietest and warmest way to enjoy winter months, which, given the weather right now, I'm not sure I believe.

KELLY: For $15 Canadian per night, you don't get a kitchen, you don't get a bathroom or Wi-Fi, but you get an outdoor fire pit, plus you get a...

STAGG: First aid kit and a bundle of wood - oh, and free parking. Sorry, I forgot the free parking. But other than that, you get an igloo and a Therm-a-Rest and some Mylar space blankets. And that's your sleeping quarters for the night.

KELLY: By the way, you are allowed to go into the owner's home to use the bathroom.

CORNISH: That's nice of them. Since Carly Stagg broke this story online Sunday, the Airbnb posting for the igloo has vanished. But Stagg reported that the ad noted the 9-foot igloo was big enough for two people to spend the night in. And the owner advised guests to bring their own sleeping bags and pillows.

KELLY: And she quoted the host writing in the ad, you get to experience it without being stuck in the back country for your first time, and if you don't like it, you can head back to the safety and warmth of your home. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Over two decades of journalism, Audie Cornish has become a recognized and trusted voice on the airwaves as co-host of NPR's flagship news program, All Things Considered.
Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.