Death By Hailstones...!

What a terrible way to go, I'd say. If you have never been in a hail storm before, let me tell ya, it ain't fun! You have seen pictures of the kind of damage hail can inflict on cars, so imagine what they can do to your head.

Roopkund Lake

Photo credit: India Today

Roopkund lake in Uttarakhand, India, is known for its skeletons. The lake is often covered in ice. But when the ice melts—as it often does—tourists are treated to a chilling view of over 200 human skeletons scattered along its edge.

The skeletons were first discovered during World War II in 1942. The skeletons have dents on their skulls and shoulders, indicating that they had been struck by something from above. The British initially suspected they were the remains of Japanese soldiers who attempted to sneak into India.

They later realized the skeletons were too old to be the Japanese. Historians revisited the lake in 2004 and confirmed that the bones belonged to two groups of people killed by hailstones around AD 850.

One group was a family or tribe, while the other were either their porters or guides. The party was crossing the area when they ran into an hailstorm. They had no place to hide and died after they were continually hit by cricket ball-sized hailstones.

To me this is almost like being stoned by Mother Nature. Not a pleasant way to go, I'd think.

Coffee out on the patio again today. Temps are headed up to 80 or so.