Awesome Rain

Stressed after a long day at work? Head over to the Pluvior website, go full screen, and unwind to the pitter-patter of raindrops on your screen. As the virtual rain falls, you can tweak other sounds like wind, lightning, and urban ambiance. We wish the raindrop simulation was tied to the sound intensity, though.

Because umbrellas do their job pretty well, there hasn’t been much need for innovation in their design. I Build Stuff came up with a modern spin on the old umbrella by making one that flies and hovers above his head. The umbrella drone has lots of drawbacks like it doesn’t fold and has a built-in time limit, but it’s still a fun build.

If you stand under an umbrella-shaped fountain, you can stay dry from the water over your head. But the idea of an umbrella made out of water seems ridiculous. James from The Action Lab tested the idea to see if the laminar flow of water coming from the umbrella would deflect raindrops away, or if they’d still get wet.

If you can get over your fear of lightning, sitting in the rain during a thunderstorm can be quite a relaxing experience. But at this spa you can experience a torrential downpour without leaving the building. The immersive experience includes a drenching downpour, projections of lightning, and lighting and sound effects.

To celebrate the end of the school year, Basha High School in Chandler, AZ has a ceremonial Paper Toss, where graduating Seniors take all of their papers from the past four years and drop them down the stairs. If this video proves anything, it’s that we’re using way too much paper when everything could be digital.

Feeling stressed or anxious? There’s nothing quite so calming as the sound of a rain shower. To help us unwind our minds, UK designer Jez Burrows put together a compilation of soothing rain sounds captured entirely from video games. Since this clip is titled “Part I,” we imagine a follow-up will appear at some point.

If you spun a jump rope fast enough, would it be possible to shield yourself from the rain? I did a thing wanted to know the answer, so he did some math and got to work building a terrifying-looking machine intending to spin a rope fast enough to stay dry under its arc.

Model maker asu_green11 built this wonderful living diorama which replicates the look of a bamboo forest. In addition to its greenery, it features a pump and a water diffuser grid which produce rain for the miniature scene. It took several tries to get the rain just right, but the finished effect is delightful.

Spray Rainworks through a stencil onto concrete, and you’ll create street art that can only be seen when it rains. On dry days, it vanishes. Our favorite part of the product description: “Please note that Rainworks Invisible Spray will not make you invisible.”

Thanks to designers Lin Min Wei and Liu Li-Hsiang, we may soon be able to go on the defensive against downpours and sidewalk splashes with their Red Dot Award winning concept, the Rain Shield.