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Apparently John Cusack is drawn to movies where the script calls for him to be stuck in the rain. Actually, can you think of any movies he’s in where he’s not getting poured on at some point?
At Smithsonian, Sarah Zielinski notes the proverbial wisdom among some gardeners that watering plants on scorching hot days can start fires because droplets of water can focus light like a magnifying glass. Scientists decided to test this idea:
They started by placing small glass spheres on maple leaves and exposing them to sunlight. The leaves were quickly sunburned. However, when the glass spheres were replaced with water droplets on both maple and ginkgo leaves, there was no visible burn. Water drops are usually ellipsoidal in shape and are less able than a sphere to concentrate light. In addition, the ellipsoidal shape is able to intensify sunlight only when the sun is low in the sky—when the light is not so strong—and the water itself provides cooling.
There was an exception, though, with plants that have small waxy hairs covering their leaves, like floating ferns. The hairs are hydrophilic and water is held in spheres above the leaf’s surface. Like the glass spheres, these water droplets can intensify sunlight enough the burn a leaf. The scientists say that if water droplets accumulated on a parched plant, sunlight could theoretically spark a fire. They write, “however, the likelihood of this is considerably reduced by fact that after rain the originally dry vegetation becomes wet, and as it dries water drops also evaporate. Thus, claims of fires induced by sunlit water drops on vegetation should…be treated with a grain of salt.”
Link | Photo: US Department of Health and Human Services
Samurai Umbrella – $29.95
Fear not the relentless barrage of a million droplets of rain, falling from the sky like fiendish ninja warriors, for you have the ultimate weapon to fight them honorably. Behold, the Samurai Umbrella!
And for a limited time, you can reward yourself with more than just an honorable fight against the rain: each purchase of the Samurai Umbrella and other items from the Neatorama Christmas Special will be accompanied with a free Mystery Bonus. Go ahead. You’ve earned it. But hurry, as the Way of the Warrior clearly states, quantities are limited.
Link | More at the Neatorama Shop’s Christmas Special
Remember the old saying that everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it? Well, not China! The country has a Weather Modification Office that aims to control the weather:
Chinese meteorologists say they brought about Beijing’s earliest snowfall in a decade, after seeding rain clouds with silver iodide to ease a drought.
The Weather Modification Office sprayed clouds with 186 doses of the chemical to bring rain for the wheat crop, the Beijing Evening News said.
But the arrival of a cold front caused heavy snow to fall, disrupting road, rail and air travel.
Samurai Umbrella – $29.95
The rain is no match for the Samurai Umbrella – this heavy duty umbrella has a fun samurai sword-style handle. The heavy duty yet light weight umbrella comes complete with a nylon scabbard so you can sling it across your shoulder just like you would a real samurai sword.
So, make like a samurai (or is that Boy Scout? Anyways …) and be prepared for a rainy day and get yourself this Samurai Umbrella. Or get two so you can play fight with a buddy on sunny days.
Limited quantity over yonder at the Neatorama Shop: Link
Don’t you hate it when your vacation is spoiled by rain? Now, there’s something you can do about it: buy a bad weather insurance …
The insurance policy, launched by holiday groups Pierre et Vacances and FranceLoc, will allow holiday-makers to claim back part of the cost of their trip if they suffer at least four days of rain in any one week.
"Aon France allows Pierre & Vacances to propose its clients with automatic reimbursement for part of their stay…if weather conditions don’t meet expectations," the holiday group said in a statement.
Aon France will use satellite photos obtained by the French weather bureau to calculate how much money subcribers should receive.
