h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My mum told me that thunder and lighting is the gods playing skittles.

The thunder is balls rolling across the wooden floor of Heaven, and whenever you see a lightening strike, that means one of the gods has scored a strike, and all the rest are clapping them. Because the are magical, they create lightening when they clap their hands.

Well, it stopped *me* being frightened. And my youngest step-daughter.

Never heard that one...but it's BRAW!

Congratxz to your Mum... *wanders off to see if it'll work on grown up kids*

I was always told that thunder was the clouds banging together. If they hit hard enough they made sparks (lightning). Worked for me because I was always looking for it to happen.

And also, basically and at the simplest level, true too.....

Thanks Zantic- I thought that was a pretty good way of explaining it. As I remember, the original story was rather longer, and was so interesting it pretty much took my mind off the storm, while I tried to imagine what Gods playing skittles looked like. I think I came to the comclusion it would be a rather ruccous affair, like a lot of my dad's mates being pissed, but somehow bigger

errm the picture it puts in my mind is one big guy playing skittles on his own 30,000 feet up

I'm pretty sure mum specified 'Gods'. She had a rather relaxed attitude to religion, did our mam. I get the distinct feeling she somehow thinks that if God made man in his own image, then the Norse gods are probably about right- a bunch of big drunken idiots chasing women and chopping bits off each other

I got the "Gods playing bowling" explanation as a kid too. These days I'm a self confessed thunderstorm junkie

clouds banging together, that's what i was told

didn't stop me being very frightened though, incidently not of the really dangerous fiery lightening bits, just the noise.

even now, i can't let a storm go on unattended if i am in the vicinity, i have to keep an eye on it. i can't turn my back on or ignore a storm, nor can i sleep through them.


...um....is this wierd?

Don't think so. My mom declares that I will die being struck by lightning because my dad erred so far in the wrong direction about my thunderstorm fears that he turned me into a total thunderstorm junkie. I have total respect for the danger and the power, but the thing itself is totally fascinating to me.

Worse ways to go, I suppose.

I was always told that Rain was God crying, Thunder was him getting really mad and banging his fists on a table, and Lightning was God taking a picture of the world with a flash camera. hmmm...

Darthie Darth Darth

Thunderstorms were God bowling. Blizzards, according to my grandfather, happened when God washed the dandruff out of His hair.

I was always puzzled as to why God would only wash His hair in the winter. Consequently, I tried to go an entire week without washing mine. In the end, it only made me decide that God must smell really, REALLY bad!

Washington Irving had a similar view of thunderstorms, in his classic "Rip Van Winkle". Rip is wandering through the Catskills when he comes upon a group at nine pins:

"The whole group reminded Rip of the figures in an old Flemish painting, in the parlor of Dominic Van Shaick, the village parson, and which had been brought over from Holland at the time of the settlement.

What seemed particularly odd to Rip was, that though these folks were evidently amusing themselves, yet they maintained the gravest faces, the most mysterious silence, and were, withal, the most melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted the stillness of the scene but the noise of the balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along the mountains like rumbling peals of thunder."

Bowling is, of course, simply an excuse for drinking, which Rip does with gusto, and next thing you know, its "Back to the Future".

BTW, golfer Lee Trevino suggest that sport has a place in thunderstorms. If you're out on the golf course and a storm comes up, hold up a one iron. "Even God can't hit a one iron."

update on what thunder is....

a couple of days ago, it was stormy during the day, and my 3 year old wanted to know what the noise was. I groped around for a semi-scentific explanation, and his interpretation of it was,

storm clouds fill up with electricity, then when they get too full, it spills out down the lightening, and makes a big noise.

what an intelligent child (totally unbiased opinion of beaming parent )

I think your child is highly intellegent....And I don't even know him!
Is he the sort to sit in the cardboard box his prezzie came in? I wouldn't be in the least surprised if so!

cardboard box his prezzie came in?
what do you mean?
the box *was* his prezzie!!

Christmas prezzies, ahh, how I gave mum and dad the worst one- seven, I said "I want to meet William Hartnel, because he was the first Doctor". Shame he died in 1979.....

Darth,
At least you heard rain was God crying; I was told it was when God and the angels were peeing And lightning was when the angels were camping with their flashlights.

The ancient Maya believed that the Rain god Chac was causing the rain to fall from the sky but also the lighting and thunder was his axe striking the walls of heaven.

Mom told me thunder was God bowling, too. Can't remember how she explained lightning. It must be something about that story, I'm fascinated by storms too. Just love them - the more violent the better!
I have fond memories of sitting on the veranda in my bathrobe with Mom watching storms over the fields north or our house.

My own son was terrified of them when he was 3 or 4. I tried Mom's explanation, and it didn't work. Finally I sat him on my knee during an evening storm, held him tight and we just talked about the noise and light show. It took a while but he relaxed, and started enjoying storms too.