The past few days, every afternoon the weather has \u201cclouded up\u201d and while we didn\u2019t get much rain, we did have a few showers. It reminds me of when I first came to Washington \u2014 during the summer, it seemed like every day at just about five o\u2019clock, it would rain, usually not heavy but enough to get you wet. These were referred to as \u201cexecutive showers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the government and office workers would come out of their buildings and up would go the umbrellas. I thought it was interesting that it seemed to rain just about every afternoon at the same time, but the sight of all those umbrellas was maybe more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing up in Oklahoma, I almost never saw an umbrella. I remember that one of my grandmothers had an umbrella, but she only used it to keep out of the sun when she was out for a walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The umbrella is an interesting device \u2014 the word itself comes from the Latin \u201cumbra\u201d meaning shade or shadow. Like a lot of things, nobody knows who invented the first umbrella \u2014 or when. A lot of people think the basic umbrella was probably invented by the Chinese more than 4,000 years ago. But there is evidence of umbrellas being use, in ancient art and artifacts, about the same time in Egypt and Greece. The first umbrellas were designed to provide shade from the sun. The Chinese first waterproofed their umbrellas using oiled, or waxed, paper and used mulberry bark or bamboo for the frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must have at least ten or twelve umbrellas around the house and in our cars. Claire uses an umbrella a lot more than I do \u2014 if the rain is light or just a \u201cshower,\u201d i almost never use an umbrella, and I never use one to protect me from the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that got me to thinking\u2026. I wonder if our \u201cuse\u201d of umbrellas is in line with most people? After some extensive research on my part, I discovered some interesting things about the umbrella.
Worldwide, the average number of umbrellas people own is 2.4. Japan leads the world, averaging 3.3 umbrellas per person. If the data is analyzed carefully, you\u2019ll find that people own more umbrellas in areas that average more rain.
Most of our umbrellas are black, or dark blue in color, although Claire has a couple with \u201cpatterns,\u201d and we have at least one one golf-size umbrella that has a picture of Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians. But the people of the world usually choose dark blue for the color of their umbrellas, although black is a close second in popularity. Men preferred black umbrellas, and women favored colors like red and green.
As i said, I rarely use an umbrella unless it\u2019s raining pretty heavy \u2014 most people take out their umbrellas when a light rain starts. Interestingly enough, it appears that a higher percentage of men start using an umbrella with a drizzle than women.
Almost all of our umbrellas, except for the larger ones are folding umbrellas. That seems to be by far the most popular style, worldwide. However, in both Russia and Japan, a high percentage of people use plastic \u201cdisposable\u201d umbrellas, something that people in most other countries shy away from.
I have no idea how much any of our umbrellas cost \u2014 many were gifts, or \u2018promotions\u2019 advertising something and some we\u2019ve had for so long I don\u2019t know where they came from. But you might find it interesting to know that the average cost of an umbrella on the planet Earth is $11.50, and the average number of umbrellas a person buys each year is 1.14 umbrellas.\u00a0
Over the years, we\u2019ve probably \u201clost\u201d untold number of umbrellas \u2014it\u2019s easy to do, often they\u2019re left outside and if it stops raining while you\u2019re inside, it\u2019s easy to forget about your umbrella. Just check the lost and found section of your church, if you don\u2019t believe me. People of the world lose an average of 4.6 umbrellas in their life. Men lose 2.3 more umbrellas than women.
The people who mind most getting wet in the rain are the English \u2014 people that mind the least are Americans. Also, people who most dislike getting wet are in their 40s. People mind less, the younger they are.\u00a0
I usually check the weather on my phone every few days \u2014 the people of the world average checking the weather forecast 2.3 time a day. People in Korea check the weather, on average, 3.5 time a day. The Japanese are close behind \u2014 they check the weather 3.4 times a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I guess that\u2019s my tribute to the umbrella\u2026 something most of us have around, but doesn\u2019t get the credit it deserves. I know a bunch of good jokes about umbrellas \u2014 but they usually go over people\u2019s heads. I do remember a song from when I was younger, about letting a smile be your umbrella \u2014 I think it went something like, let a smile be your umbrella, and you\u2019ll get a face full of rain\u2026.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past few days, every afternoon the weather has \u201cclouded up\u201d and while we didn\u2019t get much rain, we did have a few showers. It reminds me of when I first came to Washington \u2014 during the summer, it seemed … Continue reading