Nineteenth Century Scientists Set Out to Solve the "Problem of American Storms"

Re:Nineteenth Century Scientists Set Out to Solve the "Probl... by PhasmaFelis on Friday October 13, 2023 @07:00PM (#37876531)

Man, it's true. I'd heard Seattleites bragging about not owning umbrellas despite the rain, and I thought they were hardcore until I visited and realized that it hardly ever really rains there. It's mostly a continuous, pleasant light mist, like you might spritz yourself with on a hot day. You can stay out for hours in a cotton hoodie and your hair won't get wet.

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Re:Nineteenth Century Scientists Set Out to Solve the "Probl... by tzs on Friday October 13, 2023 @08:13PM (#37876954)

In the 30+ years I've been in the Seattle area I've used my umbrella at least two orders of magnitude less than I used it in my prior 4 years in the Bay Area, 10 years in the Los Angeles area, 10 years in the San Joaquin valley, and 10 years in Riverside county east of Los Angeles.

I quickly learned that

(1) actually staying dry all the time here was hopeless unless I carried the umbrella all the time, and

(2) most of the time if I forget it the rain just got me slightly damp which wasn't all that bad (except for my glasses), and

(3) when the rain was intense enough that I would not want to brave it without my umbrella, it usually only took a few minutes before it was back to the slightly damp kind of rain

and so really only needed it to keep the rain off my glasses.

That was easy to address with a hat with a brim that was a two or three inches wide. Occasionally the rain is accompanied by wind, which led to a second hat that had a wider brim (to deal with rain coming in at an angle) and a chin strap.

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Re:Nineteenth Century Scientists Set Out to Solve the "Probl... by QuercusMax on Friday October 13, 2023 @08:25PM (#37877015)

I just joined the hat-wearers club here in Portland. I wear glasses, so rain on my face is very annoying, but rain on the rest of me doesn't really bother me much. I have what I'd call an "Indiana Jones style hat" made of some sort of fake leather looking fabric that's done a decent job so far.

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