When marine amphibians fall from the sky, people tend to notice. So it was on 30th June, 1892 - when it reportedly rained FROGS in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley.

Multiple accounts of animal rain - now thought to be caused by tornadoes sweeping up creatures as they traverse local water sources - can be found as far back as ancient Roman literature, and throughout the medieval era.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the Biblical resonance of froggy-drops, discover the “Miss ‘Rain of Fish’” competition in Latin America, and work out why it’s said to be ‘raining cats and dogs’, when it literally never is...

Further Reading:

‘Nine Times Animals Rained Down From The Sky’, from World List’s YouTube channel (2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWNSc49jDf8
‘It's raining birds and frogs: Animal phenomena are surprisingly common but why do they happen?’ (Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/it-s-raining-birds-and-frogs-animal-phenomena-are-surprisingly-common-but-why-do-they-happen-2177017.html
More on ‘Miss Lluvia De Peces’ (All That’s Interesting, 2019): https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-peces

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.

#1800s #Strange #Funny #UK

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It’s Raining Frogs!