Weather has many useful applications. For one, it tells you which outfit you should be wearing. Second of all, it’s a great conversational topic if you have literally zero inspiration to keep the conversation going. But did you know that there’s more to weather than meets the eye?
Let’s take a look at some crazy facts about the weather that you can blast at people the next time a conversation drops dead in its tracks.
The Highest Temperature
The highest temperature ever officially recorded was 56.7°C (134°F).
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Crickets Know How Hot It Is
In fact, they tell temperature with their chirps! So if you count the chirps a cricket is making, you’ll be able to tell the exact temperature yourself. You just have to get the cricket to tell you when to start counting those chirps. Anyone out there speak/count in “cricket”?
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Spider Size Matters
Size matters even for arachnids. Mild autumns means bigger spiders around the globe. I think we can all agree that that’s not a good thing. Beware of spiders who grab their package in a braggadocios way.
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Firenado
Wildfires can sometimes create tornadoes made of fire. It’s like a sharknado, but without the sharks.
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Winds Are Quiet
Winds actually only make a sound when they blow against an object. This still doesn’t solve the conundrum about the tree getting cut in the forest when no one’s around, but we’re one step closer to the solution. If you are in the forest be sure to pay attention and listen for the guy with the chain saw raising hell.
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Nuclear Weather
A hurricane releases more energy in 10 minutes than all of our nuclear weapons combined. This is including the weapons Bush found in Iraq.
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Niagara Falls Frozen
In 1932, the winter was so cold in the USA that Niagara Falls completely froze over. For that day only, they renamed it to “Niagara Levitates.”
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Witchcraft
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a lightning strike killed all 11 members of one soccer team, while not harming any of the opposing players. Needless to say, the survivors were accused of witchcraft. Time to boogie on out of there or end up in the stew.
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They’re Not All Unique Snowflakes
While it’s said that snowflakes have a unique pattern, two “twin” snowflakes were documented in 1988 in Wisconsin. I want to know who had that much time on his hands to check snowflake patters.
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Thunderstorms Are Everywhere
It’s assumed that there are about 2000 thunderstorms on our planet at any given time. So where to hide?
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Lightning Is Sexist
Lightning prefers men over women, but not in a good way – it prefers to strike them down. Interestingly enough, women are more likely to die because of a lightning strike.
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Deadly Hailstorms
In 1986, Bangladesh was hit by the biggest recorded hailstorm. The hailstones that it dropped weighed in at about 1 kg each and the storm killed 92 people. I’m skipping my vacay in Bangladesh this year.
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The Largest Raindrops
The largest raindrops ever recorded measured about 1 cm. Wow!
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The Coldest Temperature
The lowest temperature ever recorded was -89.2°C (-90°F). The heater better be working!
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