If someone said, “Ratting on your goofy brother is vulgar,” what would they be talking about?
Minding your manners? Maybe, but they might also be talking about rainbows.
When you line up the first letter of each word, you get the order of the colours in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The colours always appear in that order; now you have an easy way to remember them.
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People have been fascinated by these glowing sky bridges for centuries and many have gone looking for the elusive pot of gold.
Did you know you can make a rainbow of your own, and you don’t have to wait for it to rain? All you need is a garden hose with a nozzle that will give you a fine mist. Stand with your back to the sun, hold the hose at eye level and send the spray out in an arch. With a little experimenting, you’ll see a beautiful rainbow.
So, what makes the colours? Sunlight contains all the colours you see in a rainbow but usually they are merged together. When sunlight enters a raindrop – or spray from a hose in this case – rays get bent and they split so you can see each colour. The best time for seeing rainbows is early in the day or late in the afternoon when the sun is low. If you’re really lucky, you might even see a double rainbow. The second ring is located outside the main rainbow; its colours are more pale and the order is backwards.
Give it a try and let me know how you make out. Good luck with that pot of gold!
Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
