Random facts about the rain

MANILA, Philippines - “Rain, rain go away” is one of those lines that immediately come to mind when we find ourselves amidst a traffic jam or stranded somewhere because of a heavy downpour. That, or a curse especially when it ruins a sporting event that we’ve been anticipating.

But did you know that the nursery rhyme traces its origins to the rivalry between England and Spain back in the 16th century? It was not about a soccer match.

The original nursery rhyme was said to have gone this way: “Rain, rain go away. Come again another day. Little Johnny wants to play. Rain, rain, go to Spain. Never show your face again.” According to rhymes.org.uk, it was coined after the English fleet beat the much stronger Spanish Armada with the help of the stormy weather.

There are other interesting rain-related facts about the rain that we have come upon like the origin of the phrase “rain cats and dogs.”

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, its first recorded use is attributed to poet Jonathan Swift in 1738. According to phrases.org.uk, Swift may have been referring to “the sight of dead cats and dogs floating by in storms.” An earlier phrase, “rain cats and polecats”, appeared in Richard Brome’s The City Wit in the 16th century.

As to the paraphernalia (or accessories) that we use during the rainy weather, the umbrella seems to have been the oldest. It was supposedly first used by the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, and Chinese not as a shield from the rain, but from the sun.

The world “umbrella”, in fact, comes from the word “umbra” which means shadow. About.com says that it was in the 16th century that it found its way to Northern Europe where it was used as a protection against the rain. The first ribbed umbrella design that we use now, meanwhile, was said to have been invented by Samuel Fox in 1852. He supposedly came up the steel rib design to use up the leftover stocks of farthingale stays used in women’s corsets.

Rain coats first appeared in the 18th century. Madehow.com says the Englishman Charles Mackintosh is attributed with the invention of the method that integrates rubber with fabric. If English gentlemen referred to their umbrellas as Hanways back in the day, the British populace during that time called their raincoats Mackintoshes or Macs.

We also have the English to thank for the rubber boots, or what they call “wellies.” Its name is attributed to the first Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellington, who asked his shoemaker to modify his leather Hessian boots into footwear that was made of rubber. Ezinearticles.com says it was the French footwear manufacturer, Hiram Hutchinson, though who patented the rubber footwear product in partnership with Charles Goodyear.

Filipinos call their version of the wellies as “bota” while those in South Africa and New Zealand call them “gumboots” or “gummies.”