Posted by Kimberlieo at 209.50.129.181 on June 03, 2003 at 11:59:41:
In Reply to: that is so...... posted by SexyJ on June 03, 2003 at 10:53:25:
I am a history buff and everything in that email sounds like bull to me...so I checked snopes.
The saying it's raining cats and dogs was first noted in the 17th century, not the 16th. A number of theories as to its origin exist:
By evoking the image of cats and dogs fighting in a riotous, all-out manner, it expresses the fury of a sudden downpour.
Primitive drainage systems in use in the 17th century could be overwhelmed by heavy rainstorms, leading to gutters overflowing with debris that included dead animals.
In Northen European mythology, it is believed cats influence the weather and dogs represent wind.
The saying might have derived from the obsolete French word catadoupe, meaning waterfall or cataract.
It might have come from a similar-sounding Greek phrase meaning "an unlikely occurrence."