Air Date: Week of August 6, 1999

This week, facts about...the dog days of summer.

Transcript

CURWOOD: Feel like lying down and letting your tongue wallow on the floor? Don't want to fetch one more thing because of the heat? Well, hang in there. The dog days of summer are just about over. The dog days are said to last from July 3rd until August 11th, although with this year's droughts and heat waves one might argue that the season's been extended. The dog days got their name from the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. The ancients believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, which rises simultaneously with the sun during this time of the year, adds to the heat of the sun, thereby causing the unusually hot weather. The Romans called it canicularis dies, and also thought that earthly dogs were more inclined to madness and rabies during this time. The English thought that if it rained on the first dog day, the rain will continue for the next 40 days, which inspired this bit of doggerel: "Dog days bright and clear indicate a happy year. But when accompanied by rain for better times our hopes are in vain." That's a bone to chew on until it cools down again. And for this week, that's the Living on Earth Almanac.