01/06/2024
Rain and Then Some
What if we had beautiful sunny days throughout the year which many would find delightful? But wait a minute, not so fast, you would end with a veritable desert on the level of Death Valley Ca! Indisputably, we need April showers for May flowers for many reasons which are innumerable to mention, but it is sufficient to say, it is for the survival of every living organism and, yes, it includes you and me. Incidentally, Do you love the smell of rain?
We will address this question and then some later in this article. However, in Your Lot and Parcel Podcast, we will soon be discussing the benefits of rain that you may find amazing of which I will share a few of them with you in this blog.
First, did you know the formation and color of clouds can assist you to forecast the probability of rain?
If you see (a tall, billowing cloud that looks like it was shaved off at the top), referred as cumulonimbus cloud, or (a low horizontal hanging grayish colored cloud) referred as nimbostratus cloud, you can be positive that showers are in the offing within a 24-hour period. So, never mind the meteorologist, just stick your weary sleepy head out the window first thing in the morning for a forecast.
Interestingly, who would have thought that Antarctica, although as we know is blanketed with ice, but it only gets 6.5 inches of rain or snow annually, making this continent with the least yearly rainfall by far. However, On the opposite of the spectrum, Lloro, which incidentally and appropriately, means (crying) in Colombia, receives more than 500 inches of precipitation per year. Comparatively, North America is relatively arid by contrast, accumulating only 256 inches of water annually.
When we think of raindrops, we are often limited to just thinking in terms of what happens on this God given earth. But did you know that on the planet Venus, and other moons and other celestial bodies, rain is composed of sulfuric acid or methane? However, a more of a head scratcher, on a planet about 5,000 light years away, incidentally, 1 light year =, 5,878,606,438,399.75 miles, you do the math and spare me the migraine, Astronomers discovered raindrops made of iron instead of the wet stuff we are familiar with.
You never know while doing research what you will stumble into. For instance, this story will get you running to the medicine cabinet for an anti-nauseous pill! One evening , on a spring day in 1876, a very odd thing happened in Olympia Springs, Kentucky. While the farmer’s wife was outside making homemade soap when suddenly nugget of raw meat, a few of them a little more than three inches in diameter, started showering down all around her. As reporters descended on the farm, with great trepidation tasted the meat and concluded that it was either deer meat or mutton. This gruesome mystery went unsolved for months as investigators argued the causes of the carnivorous shower. ultimately, one medical doctor came to the most reasonable conclusion. The meat shower was the result of vulture vomit. So happens Vultures are known to vomit to lighten their bodies for more efficient flight and as a defense mechanism which would make me high tail it out of there for "deer" life. Talking of being in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Hmm, having related this story to you, could it simply amount to how these vultures feel about us misbehaved humans? Why do I ask? My dad tells the story of when he was a youngster capturing a vulture before it took flight. Is this possible? Have you ever heard of that? I am here to tell you that I have seen it. They tend to bounce and stretch two or three times to build momentum to spring to flight since they are not small birds by any means. It was during this process of bouncing, my dad was able to get ahold of one and he proceeded to put his own shirt onto it before he released it, yes, his decorum was not of acceptable social norms for a youngster and please don’t hold it against me. I wonder, what happened in this small town, is it a gesture of how vultures feel about us badly behaved humans?
Have you ever heard of copious tadpoles dropping down from the heavens onto roofs tops, in open fields, and throughout the landscape? In June 2009, many folks in Japan had a strange experience. One homeowner discovered that thirteen carp had fallen on top and around his vehicle and no one had a clue where this rain of aquatic critters came from. But the consensus was that the fish, toads, and tadpoles, were swept up into a waterspout, which are frequent seasonal occurrences in the area. As the whirlpool moves over the body of water, it sucks the creatures up and transferred them through the upper atmosphere until they showered down on unsuspecting folks like you and me on the ground.
Speaking of strange occurrences, not too long ago, I heard an unusual loud slam on my front door that I immediately thought someone was kicking the door in. To my surprise, however, it was a crow that got somehow disorientated and almost knocked a hole on my front door. It is superfluous to say, The bird did not survive.
Apparently, bird confusion is caused by meteorological conditions, however, bird rains are the effect of something much easier to understand. For example, such as extremely Loud blasts, therefore, causing bemusement or confusion and proceed to crash into things. Incidentally, this was exactly what took place in Arkansas. Supposedly, during New Year’s Eve a display of fireworks frightened a flock of birds into flight. Disoriented, these birds flew into homes, buildings, trees, vehicles, causing at least five thousand of them to tragically fall onto the ground.
In case you are a bug lover, you will enjoy the following account. Of course, I am being facetious. If the thought of tens of thousands of spiders falling from heaven is enough to send you running out of Dodge for the hills, I might suggest you sit this one out. Like's Ripley's says it, "believe it or not," down under in Australia, spider rains often occur. Evidently, This is a method and a creative way of spiders taking a sky trip referred as “ballooning.”
These spiders that can balloon, climb to the canopy of the tallest trees in their given area, and then efficiently spin strands of silk as a bedding that permits them to be lifted by a stiff breeze. Typically, ballooning is not something that is obvious to us humans, however, occasionally, because of unusually damp weather or other not too auspicious climate conditions, occasionally, spider ballooning incidents by the millions take to the skies looking for more favorable weather. In Australia, this occurred as recent as in the year 2012 and 2015. When these spider rains happen, homeowners exclaim that it looks like snowfall because of the tremendous widespread display of the web as they slowly drift down. After reading this, does this make your skin crawl? No pun intended!
Let’s get back to something some of us can handle a little better. Did you know there is a logical reason we love the smell of rain?
Of course, water does not have a smell, so why do showers emanate a pleasant aroma after a rainfall? Simply because of a molecule, called geosmin, produce by soil-dwelling bacteria. When we experience a rain, it creates air pockets, which contain lesser amounts of this molecule, then these air pockets are released which disperses geosmin into the environment, thus the aroma we enjoy referred to as Petrichor.
Have you ever said, "I felt a rain drop?" Surprisingly, it is not in the shape of a "drop."
Research has discovered that rain is not in the form of a teardrop. When water molecules condense and stick together before hitting the ground, they form more of a rounded shape. However, as they fall, rain meets up with air pressure, flattening the bottom of the rain drops, so ultimately they end up looking more like a hamburger bun when it hits your unsuspected head. Speaking of which, how do you get less wet in the rain?
Scientifically, it has been shown that you can get less wet when it rains. It is called "run!". A mathematician in 1976 explains, the sooner you get out of the rainfall, the less wet you will be, despite the additional droplets you run into. How much less? Only 10 per cent less, not sure it is worth the trouble. Why not instead enjoy it by singing in the rain?
Allow me to leave you with this ponderous thought. "Is it not true? Without rain, nothing will grow! Therefore, philosophically speaking, learn to embrace all the rainstorms that come your way in life, and you too will grow in so many distinct levels!"
