Danger: it's raining

bhill says on Apr 20, 2007, 14:59:

I'd be more afraid of the flash flooding. When it really rains there, a few streets turn into white-water rivers very quickly...

Mr. Hollywood says on Apr 20, 2007, 15:15:

Hah, That's hilarious. Given the wiring in a lot of Colombian homes, it's probably dangerous to be near anything with an on-off switch when it's raining.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Apr 20, 2007, 15:22:

this is what i found Can I use my cell phone or cordless phone during a storm?
Yes. These are safe to use because there is no direct path between you and the lightning. Avoid using a corded telephone unless it's an emergency. but in Colombia we do believe that when is a thunderstorm we must not pick the telephone and switch our tv off.


gezz you hve to go to villavo to se a thunderstorm, they are incredible, it looks like the sky is breaking

engage brain before opening mouth

jay1234 says on Apr 20, 2007, 15:36:

We should submit the question to MythBusters That show is great.
Don't look down on the costenos on this one though. MythBusters did a show on using cellphones at the gas station, and could not provoke an explosion no matter how they tried. It seems gringos believe that cellphones cause sparks that can ignite fumes. Never heard of this happening in real life, either.

Mr. Hollywood says on Apr 20, 2007, 16:02:

Cellphones at the Gas Station There are some great fake photos of grisly cell-phone at the gas station accidents, though.

Equipment can DEFINATELY get fried from a direct lightning hit on your home but the odds of it somehow frying you because you're reaching over to turn off the TV or something are pretty darn low.

Mononoke28 says on Apr 21, 2007, 22:32:

Colombians... ... are huge believers of urban legends. My husband drove me crazy with not being "able" to open the fridge after coming home from work because of the "acaloro". Every time we cooked a meal together and I'd ask him "honey, could you bring me the milk from the fridge?" he would not do it because he was "acalorado". Augh!!!

Another myth... mixing avocados and dairy products, don't know what it's supposed to give you but it's "bad" for you. Also, spicy food gives you "liver cancer". This is what my mother in-law believes in. =

Diana

billyb says on Apr 21, 2007, 22:34:

Mono, maybe hubby was just... lazy and used the "acaloro" thing as an excuse not to have to get up ;)

Mononoke28 says on Apr 21, 2007, 23:17:

I know... ... that crossed my mind a few times my friend. =D

Diana

utopiacowboy says on Apr 21, 2007, 23:22:

Rain can cause problems in many places. Everybody in San Antonio freaks out when the pavement gets wet. I know that oftentimes they don't see much of that liquid substance but that's still no reason to start randomly smashing into other cars on the road.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

Mononoke28 says on Apr 21, 2007, 23:27:

Same in L.A... ... they get 3 drops of rain and they freak out!!!

Diana

webmanco says on Apr 21, 2007, 23:29:

better try Don´t open the fridge after ironing and if is raining better try not to go out.

But, I'm going to start making some assumptions here.... Which means I might actually end up making an ass out of myself ..........Thu 04 17, 2008 11:34 am

goin_south says on Apr 22, 2007, 01:46:

that's part of the reason I don't watch tv Two of them got blown instantly by lightning striking in front of the house, on the street, within a few months of one another, and I jus said, oh well....F*q it! No TV.

Imagine...

y, un mil gracias.

panthdave says on Apr 22, 2007, 05:50:

Colombian Rain and lighting... I seen one comment yes the roads become like a flash flood going down a hill.. Well in Medellin a good downpair I swear my road becomes like a flash flood with water rushing down the street..and was in Buenos Aires and Oh My God the water coming down the hill on the road was amazing.. Now Lighinting seen a few streaks come down in Medellin and they looked nasty..because so high in the alitude the streaks hit the ground quicker..I lived in Miami and have not seen worst lighting than here..with Everglades storms the drift east..I don't play to many people get killed here every Summer..I go inside and stay away from the Windows but use my Cellphone inside the house which I would think would be safer than a landline..

Why not use Cellphones..If lighting hits the tower what and then splits off in little baby lightings on every signal to a phone now the Towers are grounded..
To my opinion Cellphones are safe to use..in a Lighting storm..

I tell one thing about Medellin when Thunder goes off what an echooooo

panthdave Miami

panthdave Miami

CaptainHowdy says on Apr 22, 2007, 11:44:

Cell phones and Gas fumes CSI had an episode where the guy had been siphoning gas and the fumes from his breath burned him to death from the inside while he was chatting on his cell phone. If it's on CSI, it's got to be accurate, right? LOL
Mexico has the Chupa Cabre...Does Colombia have an urban legend like this?

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

jay1234 says on Apr 22, 2007, 11:54:

Chupacabra is Puerto Rican, I believe. Don't know if Colombia has something similar, but I have heard of the defoque, he apparently is seen sometimes near farms late at night. All you can hear is vallenato and the braying of burras. In the morning, the burras are no good for work, but do have a sheepish grin. Abuelas will tell the children to be good or the defoque will get you.

UTC, people in San Antonio cannot drive, rain or no. I fear for my life getting off of 1604 as people ignore yield signs, stop randomly, or fail to realize when cars stop in front of them. My boss got rear-ended twice in a month there. Not going out today because of the rain. Gonna watch the NBA playoffs here at home. GO SPURS GO!

kat1 (Moderator) says on Apr 22, 2007, 11:56:

this is true when is raining never take cover under a tree, you are more likely to be struck by a lightning.

engage brain before opening mouth

Desideria (Moderator) says on Apr 22, 2007, 12:10:

and do not stand out in the open either. In the middle of a footbal field is a very bad place to be when lightning strikes.
Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

David Pristupa says on Apr 22, 2007, 12:27:

Enjoying a Thunderstorm Unplug everything in the house and stand on the roof
and enjoy the fireworks...you'll be safe..........but
spray yourself with ligtning repellent

Mononoke28 says on Apr 22, 2007, 20:55:

All I know is... ... that any time I see a car here in Denver with Texas license plates I try to stay away from it. Those people cannot drive to save their lives.

When I was a kid we heard stories about La Madre Monte and La Pata Sola. The latest story I heard, from none other than my husband (oh boy!), was of a handsome guy who was just hypnotizing and would go to these famous night clubs in Tuluá, Cali and Palmira and all the girls could not stay away from him ('cause he was so damn sexy). Then after dancing a few songs with him they would look down and see that he had "devil" feet. Don't ask me what devil feet look like but I guess they're horrendous. To make matters worse, he told me this stupid story with a straight face and I had to use every will power I had in my body not to burst out laughing and say "wow... devil feet..." XD

Diana

quindioman says on Apr 22, 2007, 21:14:

Two famous Colombian footballers died because of lightning strikes whilst training...if my memory serves me correct they played for Deportivo Cali at the time.....one of them even represented the Colombian football team...Herman "Carepa" Gaviria...Desi is right (when is she not).

Mononoke has pointed out two of the many spooky characters that adorn Colombian folklore...La Madre Monte who I belive also goes by the name of La Llorona...I believe she was meant to have drowned her only son and one can still hear her "cries" whilst out in the mountains. There's also the Tres Pies which from what I know is a 3 legged bird whose 2 syllable whistle is meant to forecast the death of someone.
Mononoke that same story your boyfriend told you was doing the rounds some years ago in Armenia.....there was a nightclub on the outskirts of Armenia on the way to Circasia in the north. The club mysteriously burned down....they say that same sexy/devil had frequented the club...apparently the women that were kissed by this mysterious character had developed a burn on the spots where they had been kissed.
The feet they saw were like the hooves of a goat......an urban legend if I've ever heard one.
Apparently witches like to make their presence felt by tying horses' mane into trenzas on farms...I've heard this story from several different sources.

Colombia is a damn spooky place and whilst it's very easy to dismiss and scoff at such stories I got the fright of my life back in '94 whilst I was living at my gran's in Armenia...that's another story about brujeria though.

utopiacowboy says on Apr 22, 2007, 21:52:

The stories mentioned by Monokoke are not unique to Colombia. They are common among Mexican-Americans in South Texas as well and I imagine throughout Latin America.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.