Rain Gauge Wars: Round One

Sometime ago, Matt and I found ourselves in a surprisingly spirited debate about rain gauges. Yes, this is the kind of thrilling, edge-of-your-seat conversation that takes place at our house. Matt argued that if you put multiple gauges around the yard, they’d all show the same measurement. I was certain they wouldn’t. If there is anything anyone who knows us knows we are extremely competitive.

Of course, anyone who knows us knows we’re extremely competitive. So when rain gauges entered the conversation, it wasn’t just idle curiosity—it was a battle of accuracy, pride, and backyard bragging rights.

Naturally, there was only one way to settle it: science experiment, backyard edition.

We ordered a small fleet of rain gauges and carefully stationed them in different spots across the yard. All of them were in the open—no one can accuse us of bad methodology (though, admittedly, peer review might be hard to come by).

Before a single raindrop had fallen, we were already planning follow-up trials: gauges under trees, gauges at different levels, gauges wherever else inspiration struck. In other words, our imaginations were overflowing long before the rain was.

Finally, rain came. The gauges were ready, the debate was primed, and our scientific moment had arrived. We hurried outside to check the results… and discovered that every single gauge had overflowed.

In other words, we learned absolutely nothing.

So, the gauges were emptied, reset, and now stand waiting like tiny sentinels for the next

storm. Will Matt be proven right? Will I? Or will nature once again wash away our data? Stay tuned—sometimes science requires patience, and occasionally, dry socks.

“What about you—have you ever run your own backyard experiment? Or maybe you just like cheering from the sidelines? Drop a comment below, subscribe to The 3rd Flamingo, and join me in making life a little more colorful (and occasionally messy).”

Flamingo Footnote: Yes, I am currently running backyard experiments with rain gauges. No, I am not available for lab partnerships. Unless, of course, you bring snacks.

Thanks for reading The 3rd Flamingo—a blog for art lovers, creative wanderers, and anyone who’s ever made a beautiful mess.