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You might have heard there will be a solar eclipse this Friday morning, the first for sixteen years. Already the Health and Safety brigade are out.

Because it will occur during the morning rush hour, drivers are being warned not to take their eyes off the road or accidents might occur. Also, because of the danger to eyesight, mobile users should not take selfies, folk mustn't look at it without the special eclipse glasses and it's also dangerous to look through telescopes and binoculars. Some schools are banning their children from being outside during it.

Jeez, however we did cope in the past?

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I tried using a colander to view the eclipse. I think I've strained my eyes.

The missus always goes overkill. She's bought me this today, in case I'm sent out to do the bins during the 'event'...

You might have heard there will be a solar eclipse this Friday morning, the first for sixteen years. Already the Health and Safety brigade are out. Because it will occur during the morning rush hour,

To be fair, though, we were warned about this when we were kids. We were given something, like these below, to look through. I can understand where TBI is coming from but it's human nature to look up to the eclipse while you are driving. When you look away from the eclipse your sight will be affected and BANG!!!!!

fashionable_lightweight_strong_style_col

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#1 How far back do you want to go as to how we coped TBI?

"Throughout history, solar eclipses have been viewed with dread and associated with myths and superstition - and even now some cultures consider them a bad omen.

During a total eclipse, unlike the partial one that we will witness on Friday, darkness falls, the sun's shimmering corona becomes visible, and a chill enters the air.

Spookily, birds stop singing, confused by the apparent sudden transition from day to night. This eerie air is reflected in legends that have sprung up around the world.

In Vietnam people believed that a giant frog was devouring the sun, while in ancient China a hungry celestial dragon was thought to be responsible.

Korean folklore tells of the sun being stolen by mythical dogs, while in Europe the Vikings blamed wolves for consuming the sun.

There are more positive superstitions, however. In Italy some believe that flowers planted during the solar eclipse will be brighter and more colourful.......planting by sun and moon phases is still recognised in many quarters.

The Batammaliba people from Benim and Togo in West Africa have a legend that during an eclipse the sun and moon are fighting. The only way to stop the conflict, they believe, is for people on earth to settle their differences"

A lovely Idea I think, but sadly will never be as man has always fought man, and always will.

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o idea if it worked. I'll let you know Friday? I've gone up market now, so it will be Quality Street wrappers?

carni, if your eyes were ok with the barley sugar ones, I'd stick with them miduck. :)

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TBI, ya could be right there.

Another one we used to do as kids, was to get a piece of anykind of paper and put a pin prick in it. If you put the paper up to your eye and peep through the hole, you can easily close your eye quickly to anything you don't want to see. For instance...... If the eclipse is too bright.

Especially useful for watching Horror Films. At home, of course.

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Safest way to view the sun is using a telescope with a solar reflector, or whatever it's called, it's a special viewing plate that mounts below the viewing lens, you don't look at the sun, but's it's reflection on the plate.

Another way is to use an arc welding glass, probably the safest way!!

OK, we have had a large CME that's hit the earth early this morning, it's created a geomagnetic storm, causing a major radio blackout on short waves.

Upside is, gerrout tonight and view the Northern Lights if you live outside of cities and away from light pollution.

http://spaceweather.com/

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Easy safe made item, get a small square of glass and blacken it with a candle! Also a load of old black and white negatives is an old trick, another is to put a pinhole in a piece of cardboard and let the suns light fall on another piece of cardboard. BUT, unless you want to damage your eyesight, NEVER look at the sun directly.

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Yes we did Sue. I can imagine us all lined up with our cardies stretched up to our faces. Oh what a picture. Lol When cardies went out of fashion I resorted to the Paper and Pin Prick method.

It came in very handy while watching Jaws. the part where the Scull appears in the boat wreck. It made me jump more than once. Lost many a glass of wine over my shoulder to that one.

I will be sporting my Purple Quality Street wrapper for the Eclipse on Friday Morning. Sorry darkazana, they are all mine. :biggrin:

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Yeah, BUT don't look through the pinhole at the sun!!! Let the suns light fall on a piece of dark card to view the eclipse!

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