In 1915 San Diego hired "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield to break a four-year drought. After he mixed his 23 secret chemicals, the skies opened and torrential rains caused some of the worst flooding in the city's history. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe "Hatfield's flood" and consider whether he deserves credit or blame. We'll also puzzle over why two apparent thefts don't get prosecuted.
LISTEN: Was "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield responsible for San Diego's calamitous flood of 1916?
Coincidence, correlation, or something else?
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