DOLBEAR'S EQUATION

I've had a cricket--and maybe more--in my family room for several nights and the chirping is driving me batty! Locating the whereabouts of the crickets is quite a task. They must be nocturnal as I hear them only at night.

Last night I saw a huge cricket scampering across the carpet; I grabbed a candle holder and plopped it upside down, trapping the cricket. I intended to take it outside in the morning; I didn't want to kill it as I assume they are beneficial to nature.

When my brother saw the overturned candle, he thought that it had been overturned by accident and immediately placed it on an end table. He saw the cricket run away.

Later, when I mentioned that I thought that the cricket would be beneficial, my brother screaked, "They're NOT ladybugs;  squash the damned things!"

From The Wise Geek: An equation was developed in 1897 by Amos Dolbear which states that by adding the number 37 to the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds will provide a rough estimate of the temperature. It is known as Dolbear's Equation.

My brother asked, "Why wouldn't he just look at a thermometer?"