Here in New England we’ve officially reached the “dog days” of summer. Hot. Humid. Ick.
I always thought we called them the “dog days” because, in this weather, all anyone wants to do is lay around and drink water a la the spoiled family dog.
It turns out that’s not true.
The term “dog days” actually comes from Ancient Greek astrologers.
The hottest weather of their year coincided with the rising of the star Sirius, which is informally known as the Dog Star because of its position in the “Canis Major” constellation (The Great Dog). The “dog days” were the days in which the Dog Star was most visible. They just also happened to be the most brutally hot part of the year.
No matter what you call this time of year, I hope all species are finding ways to keep cool!
