The mystery of animal raining
Imagine what you will do while driving in a whizzy rain and a sudden thump on your trunk caught your attention, and on getting down from the vehicle you discover the intruder on your trunk was a fish that falls from the sky, and as you look more closely to have a better understanding of the matter all you could discover is fishes dropping from the sky. The occurrence in this little illustration has been common in our general society where mostly fishes and other aquatic animals could be seen plummeting from the sky. The first recorded incident of animals falling from the sky was first experienced in Greece in the year 200Bc when a shower of frogs took the Greek by surprise. since then similar occurrences has been experienced as the timeline of history passes by up until today which gives the phenomenon many meanings across civilization, ranging from the Yoruba people believing the replica of those aquatic animals exists in the clouds to supernatural and superstitious believes you cannot even imagine.
The culprit
Ranging from catfishes and snails in Nigeria, vulture’s poop in America, tadpoles in Japan to spiders in Brazil; the most plausible theory on what could cause this funny occurrence is what is called a tornadic waterspout, since most of the animals involved in this incidents are aquatic animals, the blame is shifted on this form of tornado which forms in the middle of the ocean. Tornadic waterspout is seen as a column of air that gathers overland and then spin over the sea. This tornado is strong enough to suck up small and weightless objects in its way and then carry them along in its journey of about 100 miles. Once the tornado losses its energy in a little time which it could have travelled about 100miles, the objects will then start falling and to be frank that could actually looks like its raining fishes or whatever got caught up in the whirlwind.
To give a little taste of adventure, the following 5 most stunning incidents of animal raining could blow off your Hat.
Frogs in Kansas 1873, a frog-fall smote Kansas City; ditto for Dubuque,
Iowa, in 1882. What was puzzling in both of those cases
was that there were no bodies of water nearby. Experts
theorized the Kansas City event was due to a tornado
elsewhere that had carried the frogs to the city. Scientists
studying the Dubuque case similarly believed the frogs were
sucked up by a powerful wind, then encapsulated into hail
before being dumped onto the unsuspecting citizens of
Dubuque. More recently, in 2005, thousands of frogs fell
from the sky into a town in Serbia. This frog-dumping
occurred during a powerful storm, which a Serbian
climatologist said was the reason behind the event .
The explanation of fish falling mas as well fit with this frog incidents but, it could also be that the fact that residents are so extrapolated at the occurrence that they may mistake an incident of frogs massively leaving their habitat after a cool rain and they were suddenly seen all every where, with the issue of animal falling when actually the frogs hopped to your yard on their own.
Vulture poop in Kentucky
The year was 1876. The town: Olympia Springs, Kentucky.
One Mrs. Allen Crouch was outside, minding her own
business, making soap, when large flakes of meat drifted
down around her. They looked like beef . The sky was clear,
which puzzled Mrs. Allen Crouch all the more. The flakes,
roughly 2 inches by 2 inches (5 centimeters by 5
centimeters), coated the ground and stuck out of the
fencing. Mrs. Crouch, smart woman that she was, left them
there. Two men stopped over a day or so later, when the
flesh chunks were now dried and spoiled. They ate some
(Ish!!!) and described the flavor as that of mutton or venison
.
Samples of the “meat” were taken and analyzed. One report
by a Leopold Brandeis, published that year in Scientific
American, said the substance was nostoc — a freshwater,
blue-green algae often found in moist places in jellylike
colonies. Typically smaller in size, Brandeis said this
nostoc must have swollen with water when it rained down
upon the Crouch household. The only problem was that it
wasn’t raining that day. So it couldn’t have been nostoc
.
Luckily other scientists received samples and did additional
analyses. The consensus, published in the American
Journal of Microscopy and Popular Science , was that they
were a mix of cartilage, muscular tissueand lung tissue.
But what was that tissue from, and why did it rain down on
Mrs. Crouch? We’ll never know for sure. L.D. Kastenbine, a
professor of chemistry in the Louisville College of
Pharmacy, claimed the substance — which he confirmed
was a mix of connective and fatty tissues and muscular
fibers — was the stomach contents of a bunch of vultures
who projectile-vomited it when flying over the Crouch
residence. (The two vulture species found in Kentucky do
sometimes barf as a defensive measure, or to lighten
themselves for flight.) This was not Kastenbine’s own
theory; he said he heard it from “the old Ohio farmer,” but
clearly it was “the only plausible theory” . Sounds good (and gross) to us.
“Yellowish rain” in Hmong.
The culprit
Ranging from catfishes and snails in Nigeria, vulture’s poop in America, tadpoles in Japan to spiders in Brazil; the most plausible theory on what could cause this funny occurrence is what is called a tornadic waterspout, since most of the animals involved in this incidents are aquatic animals, the blame is shifted on this form of tornado which forms in the middle of the ocean. Tornadic waterspout is seen as a column of air that gathers overland and then spin over the sea. This tornado is strong enough to suck up small and weightless objects in its way and then carry them along in its journey of about 100 miles. Once the tornado losses its energy in a little time which it could have travelled about 100miles, the objects will then start falling and to be frank that could actually looks like its raining fishes or whatever got caught up in the whirlwind.
To give a little taste of adventure, the following 5 most stunning incidents of animal raining could blow off your Hat.
Frogs in Kansas 1873, a frog-fall smote Kansas City; ditto for Dubuque,
Iowa, in 1882. What was puzzling in both of those cases
was that there were no bodies of water nearby. Experts
theorized the Kansas City event was due to a tornado
elsewhere that had carried the frogs to the city. Scientists
studying the Dubuque case similarly believed the frogs were
sucked up by a powerful wind, then encapsulated into hail
before being dumped onto the unsuspecting citizens of
Dubuque. More recently, in 2005, thousands of frogs fell
from the sky into a town in Serbia. This frog-dumping
occurred during a powerful storm, which a Serbian
climatologist said was the reason behind the event .
The explanation of fish falling mas as well fit with this frog incidents but, it could also be that the fact that residents are so extrapolated at the occurrence that they may mistake an incident of frogs massively leaving their habitat after a cool rain and they were suddenly seen all every where, with the issue of animal falling when actually the frogs hopped to your yard on their own.
Vulture poop in Kentucky
The year was 1876. The town: Olympia Springs, Kentucky.
One Mrs. Allen Crouch was outside, minding her own
business, making soap, when large flakes of meat drifted
down around her. They looked like beef . The sky was clear,
which puzzled Mrs. Allen Crouch all the more. The flakes,
roughly 2 inches by 2 inches (5 centimeters by 5
centimeters), coated the ground and stuck out of the
fencing. Mrs. Crouch, smart woman that she was, left them
there. Two men stopped over a day or so later, when the
flesh chunks were now dried and spoiled. They ate some
(Ish!!!) and described the flavor as that of mutton or venison
.
Samples of the “meat” were taken and analyzed. One report
by a Leopold Brandeis, published that year in Scientific
American, said the substance was nostoc — a freshwater,
blue-green algae often found in moist places in jellylike
colonies. Typically smaller in size, Brandeis said this
nostoc must have swollen with water when it rained down
upon the Crouch household. The only problem was that it
wasn’t raining that day. So it couldn’t have been nostoc
.
Luckily other scientists received samples and did additional
analyses. The consensus, published in the American
Journal of Microscopy and Popular Science , was that they
were a mix of cartilage, muscular tissueand lung tissue.
But what was that tissue from, and why did it rain down on
Mrs. Crouch? We’ll never know for sure. L.D. Kastenbine, a
professor of chemistry in the Louisville College of
Pharmacy, claimed the substance — which he confirmed
was a mix of connective and fatty tissues and muscular
fibers — was the stomach contents of a bunch of vultures
who projectile-vomited it when flying over the Crouch
residence. (The two vulture species found in Kentucky do
sometimes barf as a defensive measure, or to lighten
themselves for flight.) This was not Kastenbine’s own
theory; he said he heard it from “the old Ohio farmer,” but
clearly it was “the only plausible theory” . Sounds good (and gross) to us.
“Yellowish rain” in Hmong.
The Hmong coined the term “yellow rain” in the 1970s,
following the communist victories in Southeast Asia. Back
then, the new regimes were angry with the Hmong, who had
been allies of the U.S. and fought against them. In 1975,
the Hmong began reporting they saw an oily, yellow liquid
falling from aircraft . The liquid sounded like rain when it hit
the roofs of their houses, which led them to dub it “yellow
rain.”
Soon after, the Hmong suffered a myriad of health issues,
including seizures, blindness and bleeding from the nose.
Some even died. Yellow rain was also reportedly dropped
on the Afghans who fought the Soviet Union’s invasion in
1979, and on Khmer tribes in Cambodia around the same
time [sources: Schneider, Inglis-Arkell ].
So what is yellow rain, exactly? The U.S. government
investigated and accused the Soviets of using trichothecene
mycotoxins, a poison made from a fungus that can be used
as a biological weapon. (The Russians denied their
involvement). On the other hand, many scientists, even
some American ones, said it could be the feces of giant
Asian honeybees swarming through the air in large
numbers. Or else, bee poop tainted with a fungus. When the
yellow rain dried, it became a dust that contained pollen.
Given the geopolitical implications of yellow rain, the source
may remain in dispute for a long time [sources: Schneider ,
Inglis-Arkell ].
Red-winged blackbird in Oregon.
following the communist victories in Southeast Asia. Back
then, the new regimes were angry with the Hmong, who had
been allies of the U.S. and fought against them. In 1975,
the Hmong began reporting they saw an oily, yellow liquid
falling from aircraft . The liquid sounded like rain when it hit
the roofs of their houses, which led them to dub it “yellow
rain.”
Soon after, the Hmong suffered a myriad of health issues,
including seizures, blindness and bleeding from the nose.
Some even died. Yellow rain was also reportedly dropped
on the Afghans who fought the Soviet Union’s invasion in
1979, and on Khmer tribes in Cambodia around the same
time [sources: Schneider, Inglis-Arkell ].
So what is yellow rain, exactly? The U.S. government
investigated and accused the Soviets of using trichothecene
mycotoxins, a poison made from a fungus that can be used
as a biological weapon. (The Russians denied their
involvement). On the other hand, many scientists, even
some American ones, said it could be the feces of giant
Asian honeybees swarming through the air in large
numbers. Or else, bee poop tainted with a fungus. When the
yellow rain dried, it became a dust that contained pollen.
Given the geopolitical implications of yellow rain, the source
may remain in dispute for a long time [sources: Schneider ,
Inglis-Arkell ].
Red-winged blackbird in Oregon.
About 5,000 red-winged blackbirds rained down from the
skies in Arkansas late on Dec. 31, 2010, most of which
were dead or dying. A few days later, a similar event
happened in Louisiana, involving some 500 red-winged
blackbirds. Some people would say hundreds — and
certainly thousands — of birds falling from the sky must be
very unusual. Not as much as you might think. A
representative from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National
Wildlife Health Center said over the last three decades,
there have been 16 incidents where more than 1,000 red-
winged blackbirds simultaneously died, falling from the sky
like rain . What’s going on?
In both of the cases mentioned, the birds showed signs of
acute trauma . The Louisiana birds were found near a power
line; experts say the creatures may have been ill or startled,
flew into the power line, then plunged to their deaths. In the
Arkansas case, the birds were deemed to have died midair.
Since it was New Year’s Eve and fireworks were exploding
in the skies, the theory is that the birds were startled and
panicked, flying into homes, cars, each other and even
straight into the ground .
Why red-winged blackbirds in both cases? They’re one of
the most common bird species in the U.S., with some 200
million in residence. They also fly in close proximity to one
another and have poor eyesight .
Fish-rain in lousiana, new orleans
skies in Arkansas late on Dec. 31, 2010, most of which
were dead or dying. A few days later, a similar event
happened in Louisiana, involving some 500 red-winged
blackbirds. Some people would say hundreds — and
certainly thousands — of birds falling from the sky must be
very unusual. Not as much as you might think. A
representative from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National
Wildlife Health Center said over the last three decades,
there have been 16 incidents where more than 1,000 red-
winged blackbirds simultaneously died, falling from the sky
like rain . What’s going on?
In both of the cases mentioned, the birds showed signs of
acute trauma . The Louisiana birds were found near a power
line; experts say the creatures may have been ill or startled,
flew into the power line, then plunged to their deaths. In the
Arkansas case, the birds were deemed to have died midair.
Since it was New Year’s Eve and fireworks were exploding
in the skies, the theory is that the birds were startled and
panicked, flying into homes, cars, each other and even
straight into the ground .
Why red-winged blackbirds in both cases? They’re one of
the most common bird species in the U.S., with some 200
million in residence. They also fly in close proximity to one
another and have poor eyesight .
Fish-rain in lousiana, new orleans
While it’s certainly not common for the skies to rain down
fish, it has actually happened in more than one spot around
the globe. In 1947 in Marksville, Louisiana, a variety of fish
began falling from the heavens: largemouth black bass,
goggle-eye, hickory shad and two types of sunfish. The
fish, 2 to 9 inches (5 to 23 centimeters) in size, were falling
as closely as one fish every square yard (1 square meter).
More recently, in 2010, hundreds of spangled perch fell on a
small town in the Australian Outback on two consecutive
days. The small, white fish, common in this northern part of
Australia, were alive when they hit the ground. Locals say
this same phenomenon happened in 2004 [sources: Nobel,
News Corp Australia ].
What explains it? Scientists say tornadoes or the updrafts
common with thunderstorms can be powerful enough to lift
fish out of the water as they swirl over lakes or seas, then
carry them long distances before releasing them when the
updrafts lose steam. Waterspouts can snatch and carry fish
as well. They can fly along at a 100-mile-per-hour (161 kph)
clip, which is certainly strong enough to suck up and carry
some fish . No one can
say for certain whether one of these phenomena caused the
above-noted fish-falls. But it certainly seems plausible. #FFF
fish, it has actually happened in more than one spot around
the globe. In 1947 in Marksville, Louisiana, a variety of fish
began falling from the heavens: largemouth black bass,
goggle-eye, hickory shad and two types of sunfish. The
fish, 2 to 9 inches (5 to 23 centimeters) in size, were falling
as closely as one fish every square yard (1 square meter).
More recently, in 2010, hundreds of spangled perch fell on a
small town in the Australian Outback on two consecutive
days. The small, white fish, common in this northern part of
Australia, were alive when they hit the ground. Locals say
this same phenomenon happened in 2004 [sources: Nobel,
News Corp Australia ].
What explains it? Scientists say tornadoes or the updrafts
common with thunderstorms can be powerful enough to lift
fish out of the water as they swirl over lakes or seas, then
carry them long distances before releasing them when the
updrafts lose steam. Waterspouts can snatch and carry fish
as well. They can fly along at a 100-mile-per-hour (161 kph)
clip, which is certainly strong enough to suck up and carry
some fish . No one can
say for certain whether one of these phenomena caused the
above-noted fish-falls. But it certainly seems plausible. #FFF
