Rainbow

A twofer

Poetry of reality Science

We must know. We will know.

Physics Chemistry Biology Astronomy Geology

A view from the shoulders of giants.

Experimental control Absence of evidence Deep time Evidence-based medicine Anthropic principle Deepfake Dios de los vacíos Beall's List v - t - e

Rainbows are God's way of frowning at gay people. They are also, if Christian writer Constance Cumbey is to be believed, a secret symbol used by New Agers who put it on their cars to identify each other. (To her credit, when she wrote that, the rainbow flag hadn't yet become popular as a gay symbol — but since when was that an excuse?) They are also Jesse Jackson's favorite political motif. However, God had other plans for the rainbow. According to creationists, back in 2500 B.C. or thereabouts there was a great flood. After Noah's Ark saved all the animals from extinction, God promised Noah he would never again flood the planet, and he instituted the rainbow as the symbol promising it wouldn't happen again. You do believe in young earth creationism, don't you? Rainbows are not just diurnal or limited to visible light. Nocturnal rainbows (moonbows), produced by the Moon, have been documented since Aristotle and they also extend into the infrared and ultraviolet.

For those of you in the mood, RationalWiki has a fun article about Rainbow.

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