earth sciences and ecology question #5113

trish brooks, a 56 year old female from Ottawa asks on November 6, 2010,

Q:

We used to have a wooden stick on the outside of our house. It measured air pressure or humidity or something. It seemed that when the air pressure increased the wooden stick would point up, and when it dropped the stick pointed down. Do you know what kind of wood that is (or even where you find something like that)?
viewed 7455 times

the answer

Barry Shell answered on November 7, 2010, A:

 A quick google search yielded a lot of information on "Weather Sticks". According to many websites they really do work. They are made of young balsam fir twigs or other tree twigs. One of the best explanations is at the Weather Stick Science page.

Here's a place in Canada to get these: http://www.thegreatcanadiangiftcompany.com/Canadian-WeatherStick_p_978.html

Add to or comment on this answer using the form below.
(required)
(required if you would like a response)
Note: All submissions are moderated prior to posting.
If you found this answer useful, please consider
making a small donation to science.ca.