This is what causes that lovely “rain smell” that happens after a downpour

It rained!

It finally rained! After what felt like a decade of Saharan conditions across the UK, it finally, finally, finally rained. Not just rained. God damn thunderstorms let their fury out all over the UK on Friday. People stood in the streets, staring vacantly up in the air, transfixed, having forgotten that it was possible for water drops to fall from the sky, since it had been so long since it had happened. And one thing that really resonated was that rain smell. That glorious, musty aroma that hangs around in the air after the heavens have opened. Did you know it actually has a name? It is called 'petrichor'. https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1020388666437439488 And it is actually caused by a chemical being released from dead soil. https://twitter.com/Botanygeek/status/1022877317423616000 https://twitter.com/OwainWynEvans/status/1022482498159370242 Isn't that interesting? Now, go and bore people with that information next time someone mentions it.