In the late 19th century, con men of all kinds made money traveling from town to town promising to cure all manner of problems. A rainmaker, using various methods, could redeem a desperate drought-stricken town. It had long been observed that rain often follows a military battle. Or was it just that those incidences were noticed and recorded? Civil War general Edward Powers noticed, and published a book about it in 1871. He proposed experiments on inducing rain with heavy artillery, with lots of noise, flash, and reverberation. Twenty years after his request, the US government finally authorized a budget for such experiments, led by lawyer and engineer Robert G. Dyrenforth.
Dyrenforth set up his experiments with mortars, electrical kites, and hydrogen balloons. In a series of noisy deployments, some were followed by rain. But if you look out a window every Thursday morning, some mornings you will see rain. While the government didn't find his results convincing, Dyrenforth did, and took his show on the road to drought-stricken places in the West, with mixed results. Was it a matter of a good idea unevenly executed? Or was it wishful thinking on Dyrenforth's part? Or did the desire to succeed (and make money) color his thinking? Read about Robert G. Dyrenforth and his rainmaking experiments at Amusing Planet.
(Image credit: Harper's Weekly 1891 via Texas State Library and Archives Commission)
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