• About
    • About the FIA
    • Priorities
    • Our Team
    • Brainstorming Board
    • Partners and Affiliates
    • Contact Us
  • News + Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • @FIAumd
    • In the Media
  • Spark Grants
    • Spark Grants Overview
    • Spark Grants FAQ
    • 2012-2015 Seed Grants
    • 2012-2015 Seed Grant Winners
  • Special Topics
    • SearchReSearch
    • Curated Topics
FIA

SearchReSearch

Search Challenge (8/5/15): Whither the foggy weather?

Dan Russell • August 5, 2015
 SearchReSearch
Republished with permission from SearchReSearch
Search Challenge (8/5/15): Whither the foggy weather? Dan Russell

If you're like me...

... you probably think about London as a great metropolitan city--a royal city, a capital, a place of museums, castles, wonderful to visit... and... foggy.


Yet in all of my visits to London over the past 20 years, I don't think I've ever seen fog there. Am I just lucky? Or am I just unlucky, and manage to magically miss all of the atmospherics of the Great City?

But then I think of all the books I've read about London, including at least one where Sherlock Holmes complains about "... the day had been a dreary one, and a dense, drizzly fog lay low upon the great city..."

Is the legend of great fogs in London really true? What about other places?

When I was young, I lived in south central LA, about 10 miles from the beach. And in those days, I remember waking up and walking to school in dense fog. Wonderful if you're walking to elementary school, not so wonderful if you have to drive it it. (After I was driving, I remember driving v.e.r.y slowly on the freeways late at night as I drove to work. A scary time.)

This reminiscence about fog makes me wonder this week's Challenge:

1. What's the story with the fog in London? IS London foggy? Or was it only foggy in literature? Why does London have this reputation?

2. As a kid, I lived near Long Beach, California and I remember great fogs. But I don't see them much anymore when I visit these days. Have the fogs of my youth (the 1960s) vanished? Is my memory wrong? Do they still have fog as often as we did when I was a kid?


Let us know what you discover, and HOW you found out!

Search on!

Share

Comments

This post was republished. Comments can be viewed and shared via the original site.
14 comments

About the Author

Dan RussellDan Russell

I study the way people search and research. I guess that makes me an anthropologist of search. While I work at Google, my blog and G+ posts reflects my own thoughts and not those of my employer. I am FIA's Future-ist in Residence. More »

Recent News

  • Deepfakes and the Future of Facts
    Deepfakes and the Future of FactsSeptember 27, 2019
  • Book cover for Joy of Search by Daniel M. Russell
    The Joy of Search: A Google Insider’s Guide to Going Beyond the BasicsSeptember 26, 2019
  • The Future of Facts in a ‘Post-Truth’ World
    The Future of Facts in a ‘Post-Truth’ WorldMay 15, 2018
  • The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive Storytelling
    The Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality and Immersive StorytellingJune 6, 2017

More »

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events scheduled. Please check back later.
Event Archive »
Video Archive »

Join Email List

SearchReSearch

  • Answer: What do these everyday symbols mean?
    Answer: What do these everyday symbols mean?March 15, 2023
  • SearchResearch Challenge (3/8/23): What do these everyday symbols mean?
    SearchResearch Challenge (3/8/23): What do these everyday symbols mean?March 8, 2023
  • PSA:  Read Clive Thompson’s article about how he does research
    PSA: Read Clive Thompson’s article about how he does researchMarch 3, 2023
  • Answer: World’s largest waterfall?
    Answer: World’s largest waterfall?March 2, 2023

More »

University of Maryland logo
Robert W. Deutsch Foundation logo
Google logo
Barrie School
Library of Congress logo
State of Maryland logo
National Archives logo
National Geographic Society logo
National Park Service logo
Newseum logo
Sesame Workshop logo
Smithsonian logo
WAMU
© 2023 The Future of Information Alliance, University of Maryland | Privacy Policy | Web Accessibility