Weather rock
 A weather stone at the Craven Arms pub and cruck barn, Barden, Craven, North Yorkshire, reputedly more accurate than Paul Hudson, a local BBC weather man | |
 | |
| Other names | Weather stone |
|---|---|
| Classification | Weather joke |
| Uses | Weather forecasting |
The weather rock or weather stone is a humorous display that pokes fun at the intricate technology used in modern weather forecasts, as well as the fact that their accuracy is less than perfect. A rock is typically hung from a tripod and accompanied by a sign indicating how to read it.[1] A portable example of such a display, "the famous Maine Weather Stone" of Audubon Camp, Hog Island, was described in late 1981.[2]
Instructions
[edit]Some examples of the instructions commonly provided for "reading" a weather rock include:
- If the rock is wet, it's raining.
- If the rock is swinging, the wind is blowing.
- If the rock casts a shadow, the sun is shining.
- If the rock does not cast a shadow and is not wet, the sky is cloudy.
- If the rock is difficult to see, it is foggy.
- If the rock is white, it is snowing.
- If the rock is coated with ice, there is a frost.
- If the ice is thick, it's a heavy frost.
- If the rock is bouncing, there is an earthquake.
- If the rock is under water, there is a flood.
- If the rock is warm, it is sunny.
- If the rock is missing, there is a tornado.
- If the rock is wet and swinging violently, there is a hurricane.
- If the rock can be felt but not seen, it is night time.
- If the rock has white splats on it, watch out for birds!!
- If the rock Is full of sand, Its most likely The beach
- If the rock is levitating, you're stoned.
Weather rocks will sometimes include rules for proper maintenance of the system such as, "Please do not disturb the weather rock, it is a finely tuned instrument!"
String variation
[edit]In certain circumstances the string may be incorporated into the saying:
- If the string is on fire then there is a bushfire.
- If the string is cut a Wendigo has passed by.
Locations
[edit] | This section possibly contains original research. (March 2019) |
Weather rocks are located all over the world. Some examples include:
- United States
- The weather rock at Fort Drum, a US military site in New York.[3]
- In the Nature Area at Camp Rotary, a Boy Scout summer camp located in Clare, Michigan[citation needed]
- Camp Wolfeboro, a Boy Scout summer camp in Arnold, California
- Camp Yawgoog, a Boy Scout summer camp at the Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Rockville, Rhode Island
- Camp Geronimo, a Boy Scout summer camp in northern Arizona near the Mogollon Rim
- The Donner's Pass Historic Site, near Lake Tahoe, CA
- Elliot's Weather Rock in Clearfield, PA.[4][5]
- Bloomington Zoo in Central Illinois
- In Rhododendron, Oregon, near the Zigzag River off Road 10
- On Spangler Road near Highway 213 in Oregon City, Oregon.[6]
- Boron, California, in front of Domingo's Mexican and Seafood Restaurant, a famous astronaut hangout near Edwards Air Force Base[citation needed]
- Seven Ranges Boy Scout Reservation in Kensington, Ohio
- Firelands Scout Reservation in Wakeman, Ohio
- Nature Camp in Vesuvius, Virginia
- Whippi Dip ice cream store, at the Pontaluna road in Spring Lake, MI, near Hoffmaster State Park
- Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, MI.[7]
- Lynnhaven Inlet Fishing Pier in Virginia Beach
- The Kia Kima Scout Reservation in Hardy, Arkansas
- Casa Sul Lago
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota
- Canada
- At the Pancake Bay Trading Post, near Pancake Bay Provincial Park, Ontario
- Australia
- Netherlands
- Oostdorp
- United Kingdom
- Lobster Pot Tea-room on the island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
- Amy's Place on the Isle of Skye in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
- Humber Lifeboat Station on Spurn Point in the East Riding of Yorkshire
- South Africa
- The Halyards Hotel in Port Alfred
- Argentina
- Japan
- The Kiseki Museum of World Stones, Shizuoka Prefecture.[9]
- Rock-Kun, a streaming channel on both YouTube and Twitch.
- Ireland
- Brazen Head Pub, Dublin
- France
- Airport Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
See also
[edit]References
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Weather stones.
- ^ Eric Shackle, Found - World's Oldest Weather Stone, Open Writing, March 26, 2006, retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ Robert Deis, Leave the Kids and Radio to Home, Down East: The Magazine of Maine, April 1982, retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ The Weather Rock, Guardlife volume 27 number 2, retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ "READER PHOTO: Elliott's "Weather Rock"". GantNews.com. 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
- ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
- ^ [1], Google Maps Street View
- ^ [2], Google Maps Street View
- ^ "Pannawonica, Ashburton Shire, Western Australia, Australia".
- ^ "お天気石". 奇石博物館 収蔵品 (in Japanese). The Kiseki Museum of World Stones. Retrieved 2022-06-29.