{"id":52323,"date":"2014-10-07T00:10:02","date_gmt":"2014-10-07T07:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=52323"},"modified":"2014-10-07T00:10:02","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T07:10:02","slug":"dolbears-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/52323","title":{"rendered":"Dolbear’s Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tToday, dear hearts, let’s dabble in Dolbear’s Law.<\/p>\n

\"426px-I_Vespri_Siciliani_-_Domenico_Morelli_1823-1901\"

I Vespri Siciliani by Domenico Morelli (1823-1901) via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Oh, no\u2014don’t run off!<\/p>\n

Dolbear’s Law is neither as lofty nor as boring as you might think (c’mon, now, you know me better than that).<\/p>\n

Forget gavels, girls, and take the hint:<\/p>\n

\"Jiminy_Cricket\"

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Productions for RKO Radio Pictures via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Mind you, the clue is not so much “Jiminy” as “cricket.”<\/p>\n

That’s right\u2014Dolbear’s Law concerns crickets. More specifically, it reveals the relationship between air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp.<\/p>\n

It’s true. When crickets are singing in the evenings from spring through fall, you can actually figure out the temperature outdoors by counting chirps. Here’s how, according to The Old Farmers Almanac<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds, and then add 40 to find the temperature in Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n

For example: 30 chirps + 40 = 70\u00b0F<\/p>\n

It works for Celsius, too, in case you were wondering. Metric mavens can count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3, then add 4.<\/p>\n

The cricket sound clip below plays for only a few seconds, but you can play with it to get an approximation:<\/p>\n