- Home >
- education activities >
- Some Facts About Rain That You Didn’t Know
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Rain actually doesn’t look like teardrops as most of us thought. Rain drops look more like very ting hamburgers – spherical, round. The tiniest rain drops are called Cloud droplets, and are round, while big rain drops are shaped like parachutes. The greatest raindrops on Earth were recorded in Brazil and the Marshall Islands in 2004, some of them as huge as 10mm.
2. Speed:
“Ouch! That hurts” Yes! Raindrops may pelt down hard sometimes because rain varies in speed. The maximum speed of a falling raindrop can vary from 17 to 21 miles per hour.
3. Other Planets Have Rain:

Rainfall happens on other planets of the solar system too, even though it is different from the rain we encounter here on Earth. There it might be made out of methane, neon, sulfur or even iron rather than water.
4. Rain is not always water:

If it rains in the desert, you may not get wet. This is called Phantom Rain, because it is difficult to tell whether it rained or not, as the droplets evaporate under the influence of hot air.
5. What’s that smell?
As a matter of fact, rainfall has no smell. When it rains, a substance called Geosmin consolidates with plant oils which are released from the soil to give it a natural fragrance and that smell that lingers afterwards is called Petrichor.
You’re welcome.
Stay warm and dry.
2. Speed:
“Ouch! That hurts” Yes! Raindrops may pelt down hard sometimes because rain varies in speed. The maximum speed of a falling raindrop can vary from 17 to 21 miles per hour.
3. Other Planets Have Rain:
Rainfall happens on other planets of the solar system too, even though it is different from the rain we encounter here on Earth. There it might be made out of methane, neon, sulfur or even iron rather than water.
4. Rain is not always water:
If it rains in the desert, you may not get wet. This is called Phantom Rain, because it is difficult to tell whether it rained or not, as the droplets evaporate under the influence of hot air.
5. What’s that smell?
As a matter of fact, rainfall has no smell. When it rains, a substance called Geosmin consolidates with plant oils which are released from the soil to give it a natural fragrance and that smell that lingers afterwards is called Petrichor.
You’re welcome.
Stay warm and dry.