Fire from the sky. 1945.

This article sounds like a poltergeist with a grudge against an entire region, not just the usual single household. 🙂

The Sydney Morning Herald 11 Jul 1945 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17946617

In 1945 residents of Almeria, Spain, were having a slight problem with white things left out in the sun.

Laundry left out to dry, and even white washed walls would burst into flame without warning. Not only that, people wearing white clothing would find themselves on fire! Eeeek!

I am not sure I agree with the peasants suggestion that the recent drought was followed by these unexpected fires because “God must be very angry with Spain”.

Hmmmmm… No. If there was a vengeful god up there, shooting fiery arrows, it would only seem that he was angry with the colour white.

If their god really was angry with Spain in general he was being quite selective as to who in Spain he was sending his grumpy message to, wasn’t he?

I am not sure how whitewashed walls could easily and spontaneously catch fire, and this article is punctuated in a slightly confusing way; “….laundry laid out to dry in the  fields, and threshing floors have mysteriously started to blaze under the hot sun.”

Thanks to that comma I’m not sure if they mean it is laundry laid on the threshing floors to dry, or the threshing floors themselves which caught fire!

I wonder what really caused this fire from the heavens? The scientific explanations given, St. Elmo’s Fire, the area being a good electrical conductor, or static discharges are a little unimaginative for me. Surely they could have come up with something better!

This article is not very satisfying is it? They mention “arrows of fire” targeting people running towards the fires. Really? Did someone actually see a flaming arrow plummeting down? Surely the danger of the arrow would be more talked about than the fire!

I wanted to know more about the walls. Did they burn completely down, or was it just a small flame? Do the whitewashed walls and white washing have something in common, some sort of chemical that might react to the heat of the sun?

C’mon Staff Reporter! That Peasants’ Stories Confirmed header is a bit of an exaggeration isn’t it? Maybe a more accurate one would have been just a plain old Peasants’ Stories …

Just westing. 1945.

No real(-ish) news article today. On my searches I found these jokes from 1945 and they tickled my funny bone so I am sharing them with you too.

The Argus 22 Jan 1945 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1102927

The sardine joke is funny but the rabbit made me laugh out loud.

A woman opened her refrigerator and found a small rabbit seated comfortably among the butter and fruit and other things.

“What are you doing there?” she asked the rabbit.

The rabbit peered inquiringly at her and said: “This is a Westinghouse, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” replied the woman.

“Well, I’m just westing,” said the rabbit.

Have a happy day 😀

Money doesn’t grow on trees, just inside carrots. 1952 and 1945.

A woman in northern Sweden was lucky enough recently to have her lost wedding ring delivered to her via a carrot from her garden 16 years after it was lost in her kitchen. What were the chances that a carrot grew in the very spot the ring was lying?

Barrier Miner 10 Apr 1952 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49240889

A florin arrived in the kitchen of a Glenorchy housewife in 1952 via a carrot and a Smithton housewife found a penny in a carrot in 1945. Again, what were the chances of a carrot growing exactly where these coins were lying? Is there a large amount of coinage just under the surface of Tasmania waiting for root vegetables to bring them to the surface?

These stories make me think I should get out there and put some carrots in my vegie garden!

Advocate 13 Jun 1945 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68928158