Dark Day in New England


On May 19, 1780 the skies grew dark at midday in New England. There had been reports of smoky skies for a few days already, but then it became so dark that animals returned to their sleeping quarters.
It was darkest in northeastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine, but it got dusky through most of New England and as far away as New York. At Morristown, New Jersey, Gen. George Washington noted it in his diary.

In the darkest area, people had to take their midday meals by candlelight. A Massachusetts resident noted, "In some places, the darkness was so great that persons could not see to read common print in the open air." In New Hampshire, wrote one person, "A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet."

At Hartford, Col. Abraham Davenport opposed adjourning the Connecticut legislature, thus: "The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause of an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty."

The source of the blackout was a mystery, although there was always speculation that it came from a faraway forest fire. The definitive answer came only in 2007. Read the entire story at Wired. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/05/dayintech_0519

(image source: The Weather Doctor)

Comments (5)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

man.....this is also pretty anti-climactic like the indiana jones lego ball. i guess this could be filed under "if it looks, feels, tastes and smells like a rock it must be a rock."
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Cute. But, (with a disclaimer that I am not saying all people in Russia are like this) I do find it a bit sad that some of the people seem to tolerate and even enjoy the presence of animals, more so than they would humans of different races/ethnicities/sexualities.

Now off my high horse.
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"I do find it a bit sad that some of the people seem to tolerate and even enjoy the presence of animals, more so than they would humans of different races/ethnicities/sexualities."

here is your answer :
"they are civil enough not to poop in the station. we humans should be ashamed of ourselves for littering everywhere."
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Awww.
If they want to control their feral dog population, they could adopt a program to capture and neuter/spay as many of the dogs as they can.
Also educate people about doing that to pets and not releasing them in to the wild when they're no longer wanted.
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@ LisaL
I glanced past your comment really quickly and thought you said they should capture and neuter spy dogs...that would be a very interesting comment about dogs in the USSR.
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When I lived in Archangel in North Russia the stray dogs were not cute. I had to take the taxi if I bought roasted chicken, because the stray dogs would attack my groceries if walked home.

Couldn't take the bus, cause there were stray dogs in the bus... not really. I hate dogs
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I can tell you that there is much life in the Moscow Metro lines. They are very deep, and so stay warm in the Winter.

And I have to say that many stations are quite beautiful, as well.
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They do the same in Buenos Aires. I am not sure they use the metro for a ride downtown but they use it to keep warm in the winter. Normally, people do not mind and they let them have their nap in peace...
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Awww.
If they want to control their feral dog population, they could adopt a program to capture and neuter/spay as many of the dogs as they can.
Also educate people about doing that to pets and not releasing them in to the wild when they're no longer wanted.

Yes, but there are 35,000 stray dogs in Moscow, how are you going to do that? Only 500 live in subway stations, and of them, only 20 ride the trains. A few even take the escalators. Above ground they have been seen crossing the street with the signals.
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