Focus On: Weird Rain

As a young lad I was fascinated by stories of weird rainfalls. There's the oft mentioned frogs and fish. But there also been turtles, worms and birds (although birds are at least not completely bizarre!).

There isn't anything mystical about these falls... geological and meteorological factors, such as tornadoes, storms and earthquakes, seem to affect the situation.

Some good eyewitness accounts of fish falls can be found here. But my favourite story is from 1877 and reported by The New York Times. Several one-foot long alligators fell on one J.L. Smith's farm in South Carolina. Not only that but upon landing they were unharmed and started crawling around. Just imagine that for a second! You're going along minding your own business when suddenly, from nowhere, drops a baby alligator. Then another. And another. What would you do in that situation?

Reports of blood and flesh can be explained by the sad demise of those creatures being carried in storms and tornados.

Weird rain reminds us that this planet does not work according to simple rules nor basic common sense. Uncommon things do happen, which keeps us on our toes and makes life a little more interesting.

Further Reading

Complete Books - Charles Fort