Right now, we are all experiencing the “dog days of summer.” Most of us have no idea what this means. It is considered a time when summer is taking place in the northern hemisphere. This has been happening since the earth got started. I guess people just had to assign an animal to describe it.
This time of year started being called the dog days because of constellations. It seems during this time of year, the brightest start in the night sky is called Canis Major or the big dog. It is known as Sirius. Nobody knows if this constellation looks like a chihuahua or pit bull. I'd like to think it appeared like a chocolate-colored Labrador retriever.
During this time, Sirius rises and sets with the sun. During the latter part of July, the dog star is in sync with the sun. Ancient peoples believed the heat from the sun, and the dog star was responsible for the increased heat of the summer. They believed the sun and the dog star worked together and created hot and muggy weather. This time period earned the title “dog days.”
Many people don't know how to correctly handle the dog days of summer. It's not the time of year to howl like a dog at night. My neighbors will never forgive me if they find out. It's also not the time of summer to bark back at the dogs that bark at you when you walk around your neighborhood. That is actually fun and can be enjoyed all year. Trust me.
Scientists have gotten involved and ruined everything for the Ancients. It seems this time period happens between July 3 and August 11 each year. They've determined this is the hottest time of the summer. Scientists have also concluded the heat during this time of summer has nothing to do with Sirus the dog star, but is caused by the tilt of the earth. Maybe Sirus the dog star can mark its territory on the scientists.
The Romans were into sacrificing things. The dog days of summer were no exception. During this time, the Romans sacrificed a red dog during April. The logic? Doing this would appease the rage of the dog star Sirius. This would make the weather cooler during this time of summer. I have no idea why they picked on a red dog. I imagine the Greeks were probably sitting around in April drinking wine and making dog treats for Sirius. I think the Mesopotamians are the ones who developed dog star toys for Sirius. I'm sure the right chew toy would make Sirius just about as happy as possible for a constellation animal.
What do you say to a dog star constellation?
“Hey, get off of Aquarius's leg. It's not your love interest. I told them to pour water on you next time.”
“Do you have to lick there right now? You're a constellation. Quit being embarrassing.”
“Did you think Mars is your bathroom?”
“Stop chasing and barking at Capricorn. You upset that poor goat.”
I think it's time to upgrade this idea about the dog days of summer. I say we call them the “air conditioning days of summer.” I know most dogs prefer to be in the air conditioning during this time of year. I'm sure if we worked hard enough, we'd find a constellation that looks like an air conditioner. We could sell the idea by saying that being in air conditioning during this time of year appeases the air conditioning star. We could call it the Frigus star. Frigus is Latin for cool. If we want to be like the Romans, we could sacrifice a malfunctioning air conditioner to the frigus star. This would ensure we'd all be cool during this time of year. The frigus days of summer.
I'm a man of ideas.
Have a nice day and stay frigus!
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