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Serious question, did anyone else think the 'Viking sunstone' thing was total nonsense?
I always figured it was just a cool myth, but then I read a paper from the University of Rennes where they actually tested a piece of Icelandic spar crystal on a cloudy day. The thing totally works as a navigational aid, which is wild. Has anyone else had an artifact theory they were totally wrong about?
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river9522mo ago
Remember when I called that a dumb story for years? Yeah, I'm eating my words now.
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cameronp472mo ago
Look at old weather rocks, the ones in a little wooden house. People said they were just junk, but the idea is the same. What other simple things did our grandparents use that actually worked, @river952? Like using a pine cone to tell if it's humid, or watching how animals act before a storm. Makes me want to go check all the old farmer's almanac tips.
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ward.kim2mo ago
Yeah, I get that feeling. I was right there with you calling it a fantasy for the longest time. Seeing actual tests with the crystal change its light on a cloudy day was a real eye opener. Makes you wonder what other old stories might have a real trick to them.
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aaronsullivan1mo ago
Man now I'm sitting here staring at my grandma's old wool blanket trying to figure out if it really knows something about the weather that my phone doesn't. I caught myself last week actually checking a milkweed pod to see if it was fluffing up before a rainstorm and felt like a total fool when my neighbor walked by. But then it actually opened up that afternoon so who's really the fool here?
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