# Do all cultures try to avoid the rain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524 "2009-10-04T06:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/21 "2009-10-08T07:19:41Z")
You mean the banker never wears a mac in the pouring rain? Indeed, very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/22 "2009-10-08T08:27:25Z")
From what I can tell from US television shows, the rain seems to be a bigger deal than over here in Britain. Probably because we have quite a damp climate (particularly in Wales, since warm, humid air from the Gulf Stream is converted into raincouds when it tries to travel over the mountains). In any case, it’s not unusual to see people, around Wales and the West Midlands at least, simply walk through the rain (if they don’t already have an umbrella or cagoule with them). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/23 "2009-10-08T14:04:11Z")
Monsoon season is something in India. People do go out and enjoy the rain. It’s the crops’ lifeblood, it’s cool and refreshing after the crushing heat. It’s our season to fall in love - we don’t only talk about spring as falling in love, but also the cool summer rains. And it’s depicted as very erotic, the heady smell of the rain, the clouds massing overhead. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/24 "2009-10-08T14:08:13Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I think “caudalous” is a perfectly cromulent word. > [@Bisected8](#): > > simply walk through the rain (if they don’t already have an umbrella or cagoule with them). Gadzooks, it seems outré argot is accreting in ubiquity! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/25 "2009-10-08T21:30:03Z")
In the general Tokyo area of Japan, almost everybody carries an umbrella when it’s raining. During typhoon season, broken umbrellas sticking out of trash cans or abandoned on the street are a not-uncommon sight. > [@doubled](#): > > People walking down the street will often use something like a newspaper as a makeshift umbrella, which is almost comical in how utterly ineffective it is. If you think it’s ineffective, you’ve clearly never tried it. I’m guessing you’ve also never tried to see through rain-splattered glasses, nor are you a woman with a lot of thick hair that takes forever to dry if you get it soaked. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/26 "2009-10-09T15:05:59Z")
I sorta like rain. I have vitilligo, so sunburn is a constant concern. Kayaking in light rain, I can skip sunscreen. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/27 "2009-10-09T16:25:55Z")
Peter Morris: I hear there is a tradition among bank managers in Liverpool that they don’t ever wear raincoats. It’s a bit of a strange tradition, really. > [@Koxinga](#): > > You mean the banker never wears a mac in the pouring rain? Indeed, very strange. Perhaps he is attempting to tan by standing in the english rain? Quiet desperation being the english way after all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/28 "2009-10-09T16:40:10Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Perhaps he is attempting to tan by standing in the english rain? Quiet desperation being the english way after all. 😉 On the other hand, he does have an aversion to inclement weather while inside his domicile; just recently he was complaining about a hole that allows the rain in, and outlining his attempts to remedy this problem. ---
**Author:** ![sfbiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@sfbiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sfbiker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/29 "2009-10-09T17:36:45Z")
In Hawaii, the locals tend to ignore the rain (aka “Blessings from heaven”) and go about their business as if it wasn’t there. Unfortunately, this applies to their driving too – most people seemed to drive as fast in the rain as in dry weather, except for the few cars that slowed to 15mph on the freeway, leading to all sorts of accidents in the first few real rainstorms of the season. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/30 "2009-10-10T03:50:47Z")
I think people who go out of their way to avoid the rain just never learned how to gauge the threat properly because they have always been doing it. Sometimes it’s raining so lightly that you can walk a mile and your clothes dry off faster than they get wet – you still see idiots with their newspapers, running for cover. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/31 "2009-10-10T19:03:32Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > The OP needs to visit Seattle. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone selling umbrellas in Washington state - we just don’t use them even when we have to walk around in the rain. The trick is to wear outer garments that can be removed when you get inside, especially if they are either waterproof, like synthetics, or keep moisture on the outside while staying warm, like wool. > > Of course, Seattle “rain” is mostly a light drizzle. We don’t get downpours like you see in Arizona’s seasonal monsoons. > > That said, we’re pretty much like everyone else. When it gets too wet, we head indoors. As your technology level goes up, being wet becomes more of an inconvenience than a threat, but I can’t really think of anyone in any culture who likes being wet. Yeah, I was going to mention Seattle as a place with a culture that doesn’t hide from the rain. Although, as you point out, this only applies to the average Seattle rain, which is a light drizzle. And people do tend to minimize their time in the rain in any case, just perhaps not to the extent that you see in some other places. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/32 "2009-10-10T23:16:54Z")
I don’t think _cultures_ avoid rain, I think _individuals_ avoid unpleasant conditions, regardless of culture. 90 degrees when a sudden downpour arrives, and you’re wearing shorts and a tanktop? You’ll probably enjoy it. 50 degrees, and you’re trying to stay warm and keep your business suit looking spiffy for your job interview? You’re going to run for cover. Even chimps and other wild animals try to avoid chilly rainy conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/33 "2009-10-11T01:58:19Z")
My friends and I used to go for “rain walks” around the neighborhood when we were kids, just to splash in puddles (mostly in our bare feet, or in sandals). But any other time, I can’t imagine WANTING to get wet. Even then, we usually wore raincoats, we just kept our feet bare. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/34 "2009-10-11T02:25:18Z")
> [@doubled](#): > > In western culture, when it rains, people run to take shelter. If they don’t have umbrellas, people will often cluster under the awning of a building to stay dry in the rain stops. People walking down the street will often use something like a newspaper as a makeshift umbrella, which is almost comical in how utterly ineffective it is. It really is. It’s almost like they’re trying to say, “I know we are NOT supposed to go out in the rain, but I really have to get somewhere! So please take this ripped garbage bag on my head as a heartfelt symbol of conformity.” I find the Asians do the bag-on-head thing a lot. Don’t know if it’s because they’re more confortable experimenting with alternative headwear, or if they’re more intent on conforming to the NO RAIN rule. Also, many cultures are deathly afraid of being cold, believing it likely to lead to serious illness even in small (or non-existant amounts), and will fear wetness as leading to being cold. > [@kayaker](#): > > I sorta like rain. I have vitilligo, so sunburn is a constant concern. Kayaking in light rain, I can skip sunscreen. Um, I’m pretty sure UV rays aren’t overwhelmingly impeded by clouds. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/35 "2009-10-11T18:35:19Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > In the general Tokyo area of Japan, almost everybody carries an umbrella when it’s raining. During typhoon season, broken umbrellas sticking out of trash cans or abandoned on the street are a not-uncommon sight. Heck, the ladies are carrying parasols even when there’s not a cloud in the sky. I found the Japanese culturally very paranoid about rain – my colleagues would plot elaborate routes through subways and tunnels to avoid walking 200 meters across a plaza in a light rain. IME the Japanese, maybe other Asians, still have the culture our great-grandmothers did, where “drafts,” getting wet, and getting cold are all near occasions of grave illness and death. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/36 "2009-10-11T19:01:53Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > Um, I’m pretty sure UV rays aren’t overwhelmingly impeded by clouds. The [National Weather Service](http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/uv.php?wfo=fgz) says: “Different types of cloud cover may block or enhance UV rays. While thick, dark clouds can block UV radiation, puffy or thin-layered clouds do not. Hazy days may see just as high UV values reaching the surface as on clear days. Some clouds may even increase the radiation by reflecting and refracting the sun’s rays or the skyshine back to the ground.” I can’t seem to find any actual numbers in a quick Google search. I seem to recall that the heaviest clouds will block 70% and that the effect on a typical completely overcast day is probably closer to 30% blocked, but I could easily be wrong on that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/37 "2009-10-11T19:08:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I sorta like rain. I have vitilligo, so sunburn is a constant concern. Kayaking in light rain, I can skip sunscreen. Don’t. I’ve seen many a person who thought they could skip sunscreen because it was cloudy or even somewhat-rainy and who got the boiled-shrimp look. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/38 "2009-10-12T13:32:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Don’t. I’ve seen many a person who thought they could skip sunscreen because it was cloudy or even somewhat-rainy and who got the boiled-shrimp look. Well, just from my experience, even with my bazillion spf sunscreen (for babies and “sensitive places”) I can burn in intense sun. I wear a hat and kayaking gloves as well. In rain I’ve never had a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/39 "2009-10-12T15:20:19Z")
I thought about this thread again the other day, I do think that in Britain at least we have a cultural thing of massively caring about rain. I was trying to exit an underground (subway) station which took several minutes because the exit was blocked by a mass of people. When I eventually exited, I discovered why there was this mass of people: there was a very fine mist of rain. I mean, not enough of a mist to even make you squint: a barely-perceptible mist. And yet, people were walking out of the station and immediately freaking out. It was as though there were a couple of tarantulas hanging down in front of the exit. wtf? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524/40 "2009-10-13T16:33:29Z")
I’ve had to wear glasses for most of my 60 years, and I didn’t like getting the rain on my specs. A couple years ago, cataracts forced me to get surgically implanted bifocal lenses, so I don’t wear glasses now. One day I realized I don’t mind going out in the rain any more. I believe the change is from wearing no glasses, but it might be my decaying brain. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-cultures-try-to-avoid-the-rain/512524.md?page=1)