Nature has never ceased to amaze humankind since the beginning. Extreme natural phenomena leave you speechless, and the strangest events unfold. Rain of fish and frogs is a phenomenon that dates back to 200 AD, and since then, several truly astonishing occurrences have taken place. While rains of fish and frogs are the most common, there have also been reports of worms and even mice falling. Some people simply call it animal rain, as you never know where the next surprise might appear.
In this post we are going to tell you all the secrets that these strange phenomena hide and what is the origin. Do you want to discover the truth behind the rain of fish and frogs? Keep reading to know more.
Urban reality or legend?
The idea that it rains animals is completely absurd. Some attribute this type of rain to something divine, a kind of punishment from God (or gods) sent to us to atone for our sins. Other skeptics doubt the existence of these rains and don't believe in them . Religious propaganda and slogans about obedience to God or the announcement of the end of the world may be the reasons for such a notion.
However, there are real testimonies and evidence that the rain of fish and frogs exists. In 1997, a Korean fisherman was knocked unconscious by a frozen squid that fell directly from the sky. Upon impact, the fish gained considerable speed and struck the head with great force, causing immediate unconsciousness. The fisherman remained unconscious for two days and suffered brain damage. Both he and his companions maintained that he had not been attacked and that he had no fish on board in reserve. No one could explain why the frozen squid could have fallen from the sky.
These animal rains are not urban legends, as is often claimed. There is ample documented evidence that proves their reality. One particularly striking case, captured on film, occurred in 2013. A young Brazilian man was driving his car when, suddenly, thousands of spiders began raining down from the sky onto his head. This event left many people speechless, unable to understand how it happened and only able to try to explain it.
Another incident reported in the New York Times involved a Russian fishing vessel sinking because of nothing less than a cow that fell from the sky. What's a cow doing in the sky?
Real cases of animal rains
The problem with such strange and infrequent events is that they are rife with literary fantasies and a lot of misinformation about religions circulating online. The Greek rhetorician Athenaeus spoke of a banquet held by scholars around 200 AD. This is the earliest evidence we have of such an extraordinary event. At this banquet, he claimed that it rained fish for three days. Furthermore, there is also a story in the Peloponnese about a flood of frogs.
More recently, in 1578, Bergen (Norway) was reportedly struck by a mysterious rat plague. I don't know which of the three rains is worse. I'd choose rats, since they're a guaranteed source of disease.
In 1870, a massive rain of snails fell on the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. The snails were so numerous that the event was described as "a storm within a storm." In 2007, a jellyfish rain was recorded in the city of Bath.
Much more recently, a rain of worms and earthworms occurred in Louisiana in 2007, Scotland experienced the same thing during a football match in 2011, and Norway also experienced it in 2015. All these recorded events are irrefutable proof of the existence of these rains.
Although there is a variety of these rains, the most frequent are frogs and fish . Rains of frogs have occurred in Gibraltar in 1915, and in Nafplio, Serbia in 1981. Some witnesses to these rains claim that even the frogs didn't resemble the native species. For example, regarding the rain in Serbia, one witness asserted that there are no native turtles that are green, but rather gray, and that these frogs were faster.
Take advantage of the event
Some cities take advantage of these kinds of animal showers as gifts from the sky. In Sri Lanka in 2014, a shower of fish fell on the rooftops and streets of the city. The villagers used this gift to celebrate with a fish feast of more than 50 kg. The fish that survived the fall were collected and later used as food.
In other places like Yoro (Honduras), the great harvest from the sky is eagerly awaited every year between May and July. There's even a festival commemorating this rain of fish. The sign that this extraordinary event will take place is a large, dark cloud that will bring about the tempest of animals. This miraculous rain is used by the inhabitants for cooking and eating together as a community.
Hypothesis of the rain of fish and frogs
Like everything (or almost everything) in life, it needs an explanation. The most plausible hypothesis so far regarding the existence of these animal showers is that they are sucked in by strong whirlwinds and dropped to the ground , traveling great distances.
Eccentric theories are out of place as are divine anger, attempts by other beings to get rid of extra food before traveling to another planet, etc. In the whirlwind theory it is commented that some animals survive these whirlwinds, others are crushed by the pressure and force of the wind and others, due to the low temperatures that occur at altitude, end up frozen.
In my opinion, some isolated cases like that of the frozen squid may be the result of some pranksters who can go in small planes. You never know what the human being is willing to do.
