Probably not what you were expecting, huh? Truth be told, I’ve see variations on this joke at several tourist traps using various suspended objects. The one in the photo is at the Kauai Inn on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, so it I guess it made sense for them to use a coconut. I’ve been to Hawaii but never to Kauai. This photo is used as an avatar by a fellow member on the Outback Power forum (a hangout for people with solar electric systems in their homes).
Ironically, I’m currently having some issues with my solar system, which is why I was on the forum. It’s also why I’m behind in writing new posts and decided to take the path of least resistance with this week’s Sky Lights. This probably would have been better as an April Fools post but the timing just didn’t work out that way.
Further ironically, my own weather station recently froze up on the outside temperature display. It’s actually a pleasant 93°F outside as I type this. I’ve never seen temps that high in my 35 years here in Arizona. 126°F is 2° less than the highest temperature ever recorded in the state. So anyway, I’m now shopping for a new weather station so that’s also keeping me busy.
Finally, since I’m thinking of making a similar joke weather station for my yard, using a rock instead of a coconut, I started thinking about more conditions and forecasts that could be added at Kauai Inn:
- Coconut has holes in it. Forecast: meteor shower.
- Coconut hairs are standing up. Forecast: lightning storm.
- Coconut is black on the bottom half. Forecast: lava flow.
- Coconut is spinning. Forecast: dust devils.
If any reader has additional conditions and forecasts, please leave them in the comments for all to enjoy.
We’ll be back to real science next Monday. Thanks for allowing me this brief vacation.
Next Week in Sky Lights ⇒ The Doomsday Glacier