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Volume 11: Number 1: Article 4
Wishing for Good Weather: A Natural Experiment in Group Consciousness
Roger D. Nelson, Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research, Princeton
University, Princeton, NJ 08540
Many human activities are affected by the weather, and there is a long
history of rituals and ceremonial efforts aimed at controlling it. In
modern societies, such efforts are largely vestigial and amount to informal
hoping or wishing for good weather for special occasions. Reunion and
commencement activities at Princeton University, involving thousands
of alumni, graduates, family and others, are held outdoors, and it is
often remarked that they are almost always blessed with good weather.
A comparison of the recorded rainfall in Princeton vs. nearby communities
shows that there is significantly less rain, less often, in Princeton
on those days with major outdoor activities.
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