Rain. So What Else Is New?

 

To say we’ve had a lot of rain this year is an understatement.  Trawling my archives, I discover that I was complaining about rain way back in August 2010, so I dug up some facts:

It is the wettest spot on Earth (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• If you are a UK resident this is a good site for the rain forecast.  Or you could just look out your window.
• Rainfall is classified as light if not more than 0.10 inch per hour, and heavy if more than 0.30 inch per hour.
• If the earth were a body, the Amazon rainforest would be its lungs.  It’s got emphysema.  Rainforests used to cover 14% of the earth; now it’s only 6%.  Forty more years and it’s Hello Gobi.  Dull as he is, Sting is clearly on to something.
• A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe’s rivers.
• Raindrops can fall at up to 22 miles per hour.  And 22 hours a day, in my experience. 
• Louisiana is the wettest state in the US: 56 inches a year.
• One single tree in Peru was found to have forty-three different species of ants.  Okay, they can chop that one down as far as I’m concerned.
• There is a famous actor called Rain.  Ever heard of him?  Me neither.
  

  The Rain People (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Acid Rain is a real phenomenon; natural precipitation reacts chemically with air pollutants and becomes acidic.  Ouch.  We’re poisoning the ecosystem.  Where’s Sting when you need him?
• Made out of copper, the Statue of Liberty is corroding because of acid rain; the acid discolours and dissolves the copper.  If it carries on, she’ll be Is That You, Liberty?
• Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii, has up to 350 rainy days every year.  If you think that’s a lot, try living in Stockport.
• Raindrops change shape as they fall.
• The world’s heaviest average rain fall (about 430 inches) occurs in Cherrapunji, India, where as much as 87 feet of rain has fallen in one year.  Is that anywhere near Stockport?
• Rain that freezes before it hits the ground is known as frozen rain.  I got that from a site called ‘Interesting facts about rain.’  I should sue them for false advertising.
• All the water in the world is all the water we will ever have. The rain and floods we are experiencing are like sloshing drinks from one glass to another.  Finally, a good idea.
• The umbrella started life as a parasol.  Talk about aspirational.
• You can make your own rain.  Like we haven’t had enough.  Check out: http://www.essortment.com/all/kidsweatherrai_rsdj.htm.  I’m not posting details here because I don’t want to encourage you.