andyandy
anthropomorphic ape
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2006
- Messages
- 8,377
This has always fascinated me....but the explanations (like that below) don't address all my questions....so maybe you guys'd like to help out 
what stands out is that the falling objects are invariably of the same variety - ie. of frogs etc. but surely a meterological event (whirlwind/tornado...) would be pretty indiscriminate in what was collected...so you'd expect the objects to be of a less homogenous nature....or are certain objects (like frogs it seems....)more susceptible to being carried off??
and what's the biggest or strangest rain of an object.....? the BBC lists tomates and coal...can anyone top that?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3582802.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals
Raining animals is a relatively common meteorological phenomenon, with occurrences reported from many countries throughout history. The animals most likely to drop from the sky in a rainfall are fish and frogs, with several types of birds coming second. Sometimes the animals survive the fall, notoriously fishes, suggesting a small time gap between the extraction and the actual drop. Several witnesses of raining frogs describe the animals as startled, though healthy, and exhibiting relatively normal behavior shortly after the event. In some incidents, however, the animals are frozen to death or even completely enclosed in blocks of ice.
Scientific explanation
Raining animals were first described by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century and ever since caused astonishment and perplexity.
The scientific explanation involves a combination of geographic circumstance and meteorological chance. During a storm, wind may sweep the earth's surface at great speed, creating whirlwinds or even small tornadoes that can catch debris on the surface. The rain of water-borne animals such as amphibians or fishes is explained with the passage of such whirlwinds over lakes or rivers forming waterspouts; land animals are captured directly from the surface and birds can be taken while in flight.
what stands out is that the falling objects are invariably of the same variety - ie. of frogs etc. but surely a meterological event (whirlwind/tornado...) would be pretty indiscriminate in what was collected...so you'd expect the objects to be of a less homogenous nature....or are certain objects (like frogs it seems....)more susceptible to being carried off??
and what's the biggest or strangest rain of an object.....? the BBC lists tomates and coal...can anyone top that?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3582802.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals
Raining animals is a relatively common meteorological phenomenon, with occurrences reported from many countries throughout history. The animals most likely to drop from the sky in a rainfall are fish and frogs, with several types of birds coming second. Sometimes the animals survive the fall, notoriously fishes, suggesting a small time gap between the extraction and the actual drop. Several witnesses of raining frogs describe the animals as startled, though healthy, and exhibiting relatively normal behavior shortly after the event. In some incidents, however, the animals are frozen to death or even completely enclosed in blocks of ice.
Scientific explanation
Raining animals were first described by Pliny the Elder in the 1st century and ever since caused astonishment and perplexity.
The scientific explanation involves a combination of geographic circumstance and meteorological chance. During a storm, wind may sweep the earth's surface at great speed, creating whirlwinds or even small tornadoes that can catch debris on the surface. The rain of water-borne animals such as amphibians or fishes is explained with the passage of such whirlwinds over lakes or rivers forming waterspouts; land animals are captured directly from the surface and birds can be taken while in flight.
