Re: [tied] Re: Fire and the naughty little squirrel

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 5637
Date: 2001-01-19

Belemnite "darts" are indeed popularly taken for "thunderstones", but REAL thunderstones, produced by the action of lightning in sand, also exist. They are called fulgurites and are irregular-shaped tubes of silica glass, sometimes branching, and up to 1 m long.
 
Regarding squirrels and raptor birds, I'm not aware of any thunderbird folklore in Eastern Europe. Any opinions from other list members?
 
Steppe sciurids are not called squirrels in these parts. Glen's animal would be either the bobac (Marmota bobak, closely related to woodchucks and other marmots) or one of the Eurasian "ground squirrels" (Citellus). If it's any help, their local names are Ukr./Pol. bobak, Rus. bajbak (perhaps of Turkic origin) or stepnoj surok 'steppe marmot' for Marmota bobak, and Slavic *susUl- for Citellus.
 
 
Piotr
 
 
 
----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Odegard
To: cybalist@egroups.com
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2001 6:03 AM
Subject: [tied] Re: Fire and the naughty little squirrel

The fallen-to-earth remains of Zeus' thunderbolts, so I read (Graves, I think) were cuttlefish fossils, which explains its odd shape in Greek art.