Can it really rain frogs? I mean in the actual "real, live, breathing, croaking frogs falling from the sky" sense? Well, yes I believe it can and not just because there is scientific speculation and a number of websites (give it a Google) claiming it to be true. Let me take you back a few years.
Some time in the early 2000's, a lovely summer afternoon in a little unheard of place in rural Britain , suddenly turned very black and thundery. A storm was brewing, so after garden basking in the rare British sun for a few hours, I decided to sit just inside, patio doors open, icy glass of water in hand and see if the storm was going to get all theatrical on me.
Now don't misunderstand, I am no storm chaser (not that we get any significant storms to chase here) but I do love to watch the spectacle of a good old summer thunder and lightening show from the relative safety of indoors. My front row seat was booked and the commercials had just finished when the first rumble of thunder crackled across the brooding, dark, plum coloured sky.
Distant flashes of lightening signalled the beginning of the rain, a little pitter patter at first, followed by an almighty deluge, with giant, mutant drops of rain bouncing off the patio concrete. Within seconds the place was drenched and the perfect summer day was a distant, washed out memory. In truth, the "spectacle" never really happened (at least not yet) and I had to make do with a few more claps of thunder and a moment or two of strobe lightening.
Five minutes later, the rain had stopped and was already evaporating in a haze of heat as the sun erupted once more. About to turn tail and hit the shower, I noticed something in the corner of my eye, staccato movement, stillness, and then again and again. As I focussed, I noticed several (perhaps five or six) small frogs hopping erratically across the steamy paving and sodden lawn.
What? To clarify for the sceptics (including myself at the time), I don't live anywhere near bodies of water, large or small. None of my neighbours had ponds, water features or pet frogs and I had never, ever seen frogs in my garden before. Yet, there they were, looking totally confused and disorientated, leaping around my garden.
I can think of no other explanation and as the phrase "Its raining frogs" flashed across my mind, I muttered aloud to myself, "I think it just rained frogs!" No one has ever believed me of course and it's only because of internet research that I became a believer myself but I am genuinely convinced that in this little corner of the UK on a summer afternoon much like any other, that I actually had a frog shower in my garden!
What do
you think? Are there any scientists reading this that can confirm to me that this indeed
is a possibility? Can living frogs tumble from a rain cloud? Can it really rain frogs?
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