Inches of rainfall; wind speed -- these are technically accurate statistics that describe a storm but they are not readily grasped; e.g. how much exactly is 1 1/2 inches of rain?

However, we have all had the experience of seeing discarded, tattered umbrellas dotting the streets after a heavy rainstorm, so I propose that DUMP (Discarded Umbrellas per Million People) be adopted as a quick measurement which encompasses all the qualities of a storm: The amount of rain, wind speed, and duration of the storm. Quick estimates of the number of dead umbrellas can be made by surveying and extrapolation to the population of the whole city.

Thank you.
-- phundug, Mar 11 2011

I was gonna go on a rant about how daft of you it was to anthropocentrify the weather (I was given a similar bashing when I tried to make a Rage Index for mother nature based on deaths) and lack an absolute scale (a raging storm in the middle of nowhere gets no points, poor guy), but really does anybody talk about storms that don't hit people?
-- daseva, Mar 11 2011


It's not a stable indicator, what if there was a sale of cheap umbrellas at Mister Lee's Discount on Main St?
-- rcarty, Mar 11 2011


To confuse the French, obviously.
-- mouseposture, Mar 11 2011



random, halfbakery