Sancta Sedes Umbrellica (or Umbrellicas to use their shortened names) are needed in order to facilitate the activity of wandering in the rain listening to mumbled secrets.

Umbrellicas are special umbrellas issued very infrequently by the Holy See in order to facilitate mobile street confessions for busy people.

Umbrellica is a conventional umbrella with a few additional features. Its contour is slightly deeper to cover more of the heads of those sheltering under is repellant exterior surface, but the crucial difference lies beneath. Here we find a fabric panel that bisects the entire space, meaning that those who shelter can hear each other mumbling their secret exchanges through the darkened gauze, but are unable to see their respective faces.

Other street confession devices have been proposed, but the advantages of the Umbrellica are clear; being highly portable; instantly deployable; and totally discrete.

"It hails Mary, we are full of grace."
-- xenzag, Feb 11 2015

Was this whole thing just an excuse for a "hail Mary" pun? Was it? I shall know if you're lying, you know.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 11 2015


+ but you might want to get your money back on the Internet Latin course.
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 11 2015


//"hail Mary" pun?// Actually no - that came later, and is more of a synecdoche than a pun I believe. The entire idea occurred to me as I was considering the matter of setting my students a question re the functionality of dividing a common space, not normally separated, into two component parts.
-- xenzag, Feb 11 2015


I don't think it's a synecdoche - isn't that when part of something is used to stand for the whole (as in "head of cattle" or "wheels" meaning a car)?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 11 2015


Yes it is.... but in that respect the Hail part fulfills that function, as well as displaying duality?
-- xenzag, Feb 12 2015



random, halfbakery