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Fossilised Rain Drops Found In India

Posted by Hemos on from the tiny-tiny-fossils dept.

angkor writes ""An Indian geologist says he has discovered imprints of some of the oldest raindrops on Earth, dating back more than a billion years."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/ newsid_1713000/1713001.stm"

4 of 9 comments (clear)

  1. Proof at last! by Dimwit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now we can prove that raindrops were not simply "created", but evolved from simpler raindrops!

    --
    ...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
    1. Re:Proof at last! by JMZero · · Score: 2, Funny

      More than that, if we could reconstruct the shape of these raindrops we could build a "Prehistoric Rain" park.

      --
      Let's not stir that bag of worms...
  2. Nearby... by msouth · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...were found the remains of a primitive umbrella, which had not yet evolved the ability to retract. It was thought that this might have led to the untimely demise of the umbrella's owner, due to the bad-luck factor inherent in bringing such a thing in the cave.

    --
    Liberty uber alles.
  3. Duh! by Tackhead · · Score: 2, Funny
    > the rain imprints were represented by small impact craters - averaging about three to five millimetres in diameter. These craters are circular or elliptical in shape, suggesting that the rain drops fell vertically or at a slight angle.
    >
    >Balram Chatterji, a former director of the Geological Survey of India, said the finding could help in establishing the atmospheric conditions on Earth millions of years ago.

    "We've concluded that, well, millions of years ago, rain fell in a downward direction, droplets most likely pulled down due to the force of gravity, and uh, there was some sort of other force that may have deflected the drops from a perfectly vertical path, so the rain didn't fall straight down. We've dubbed this 'wind'."

    ("Hey, what's this rushing sound, all around me, I think I'll call it 'wind'! And this big round flat thing coming straight towards me! Needs a big, round sounding name, like, umm... grrooouuund! I wonder if it'll be friends with me!*SPLAT*")