The bad news is that the famous “tunnel tree,” the California redwood with the drive through tunnel cut in it (long, long ago, by the way), has fallen.
But the Chicago Tribune story claims…
Damn Jello. Gets us all in the end.
I don’t see anything in the story that indicates jello was involved.
My personal theory was that it was a rogue molasses flood.
And the good news is that there are still plenty of magnificent trees left in the Park, and elsewhere.
Forecasters should perhaps add viscosity to winter storm statistics.
Someone once told me that the air pollution in California, back when it was really bad, could be “washed out” by rain, which fell as a sticky substance, and that this inspired the Dr. Seuss story Bartholomew and the oobleck". the Wikipedia page doesn’t confirm this, saying it was inspired by something he overheard in Belgium. Besides, the book came out in 1949, and I don’t think the pollution got that bad by then.
In any event, you can easily find references to “sticky rain”. Many are apparently due to insects, although some seem to be truly viscous stuff falling from the sky
*Although, IIRC, Philip Jose Farmer describes a similar sticky rain in his novel “Blown”, written in the 1960s
OTOH, the Chandelier Tree still stands and you can drive your car thru it for $5.
Maybe it will take a pudding storm to bring that one down.
I’ve walked through that “tunnel” many times. Sad to see it go, but they all fall down eventually.
Those damned molasses floods. And they always seem to come in January, which makes them particularly viscous.
Aww that is too bad!
Cant see the article…says I need to turn off my ad blocker.
Well, turn it off.
Or refresh and hit Escape before the nag loads.
Investigators found evidence of maple syrup at the scene and suspect it was a tree-on-tree crime.
So.
Free firewood…?
I thought that was only in The Quaker State.
Those saps. The evidence was…[sunglasses]PLANTED.
YEAAAAAHHH!
[music]It don’t rain in California
But , girl, don’t they warn ya
It pours…
Man, it pours [/music]
Jello
…45 played at 33-1/3 for maximum effect.
They say it Jello rains in Southern California
Though I’ve never seen that kind of glop before.
It Jello rains in California,
Girl, don’t they warn ya.
Jiggly pours, out of doors.
I see CalMeacham beat me to it but I’ve got it stuck in my head so I’m inflicting it on the rest of you anyway.
Cost me a little over $1000 to find out my Honda Ridgeline would not fit through a drive-thru tree. Scraped up my right front fender pretty good.
“Hello, Insuranceco? I need to file an accident claim.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Valued Customer. What was the nature of the accident?”
“I tried to drive through a tree.”
“…huh?”
To be pedantic, jello is not a viscous liquid. Once it’s set, it’s a solid (albeit a very elastic one). Because it doesn’t flow, it keeps its shape on its own. A viscous substance would be something that flows slowly, like molasses.
I know. I chose it for the silly factor.
It depends upon how much water you add, and what temperature it’s at.
As someone who made and worn makeup “appliances” out of (unflavored) gelatin, I can categorically state that they appear wiggly but solid at first, even more solid than normal Jello (because you use less water), but that after an entire evening on your face, especially in a hot room, it definitely becomes a viscous liquid.