ANSWERS: 25
  • *laughs* If you know how rainbows work, you know it is impossible. Ill type it out for you in a second. In the mean time, amuse yourself with the thought of my honest to got story of beating a beam of light in a running race. true story ; ) (sidenote, while you may not have technically driven through a rainbow, you may have partaken in an odd phenomenon, which is hard to explain. your explanation of this phenomenon "I drove through a rainbow" is incorrect, though.) EDIT: There is a book, called "Unweaving The Rainbow" by Richard Dawkins. Richard is a very vocal Atheist, and this book explains science in a simple way. He doesnt simplify it, just explains it, and tries to spread appreciation for the beauty of good science. Its a very good book, whether you are atheist or not, its a great perspective. In any case, one of Richards points he makes in the book, is the de-mystification of a beautifull natural phenomenon: The rainbow. He explains the physics involved, and essentially how the beauty extends beyond what you can see. But, more relevent to your question, his explanation articulates better than I can, why you cannot drive through a rainbow. He does mention however how you can experience rainbows close-up, and these may explain what you experienced. I can email you the exerpt if you like, or i can post it on the web somewhere and give a link.
  • one time i tripped on acid too and i met roy g biv as well...it was crazy and the doors were all walking on the banana paved road
    • mushroom
      Cellophane flowers of yellow and green / Towering over your head / Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes / And she's gone --The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" (1967)
  • I believe you. I only hope that could happen to me! Sounds lovely.. :)
  • There are numerous people on the net claiming they've done this. It's possible and very rare. It just not clear how it works! Example: http://roxannabelle.blogspot.com/2007/01/rainbows-and-my-wife.html I did read an explaination of how this happens once but I can't find it now.
  • I did it in a dream once was really nice. Then it happened again and the rainbow was solid this time so it was like walking in to a wall.
  • While driving on the interstate the other day, it started raining while the sun was still very bright. I was behind two 18 wheelers. The mist caused by the truck's tires made a blinding rainbow effect. I was basically in the middle of a rainbow so bright I couldn't see the road. dispite the danger of not seeing where I was going at 70 mph, it was a very cool thing. Since a rainbow is basically a reflection of light, I'm not sure that it can actually touch the ground. Either way, they are pretty to look at.
  • I don't know the physics behind it, but I did the same thing. I believe you.
  • When I went to Hawaii for the first time, we were driving on the freeway and passed under, through, or next to (not sure which) a rainbow. It was so close to our car that it looked enormous, and was one of the most beautiful natural phenomenons I've ever seen. +6 for reminding me of that beautiful moment with your question.
  • A rainbow doesn't exist apart from your position. You can get close to one but it isn't 'there' for you to drive through. If something lit up your car, it wasn't the rainbow itself, it was some light or a reflection. But it is physically impossible to drive through one as it doesnt' stay in one spot. It is only there to the viewers from outside the rainbow.
  • I've used an old submarine periscope prism to shine a rainbow on my daughter. It lit her up good. Maybe the effect you went through was from a source like mine? Did you suddenly enter a blinding colorful light? Or did you you follow the rainbow to the ground and go through it?
  • my mother called me this morning and told me that it happened to her this morning! I think you should feel lucky! Maybe that means something good will happen soon. For my mother, I sure hope thats what it means for her!
  • Hello , I actually signed up to this site , just to reply to this posting. I also drove through a rainbow (I had someone else in the car with me to vouch for my sanity) It was surreal and I actually didn't think it was going to happen but as we got closer , it remained in the same spot with vivid color .. It was surreal and It will probably never happen again in my lifetime .. it's totally possible if you are in the right place at the right time. Thanks
  • i have driven through a rainbow...twice. both times were about 2 months apart form each-other and it was in the same area. it was the coolest thing that i have done in a while. its completely possible!
  • I've done it, and no-one believed me either! The end was on the motorway.
  • I also drove through a rainbow once, i was heading down the highway on a straight stretch, about a mile in front the highway curved right, at that curve was the edge/beggining of a rainfall and the sun was above and behind me. I could clearly see a rainbow wider than the highway covering the highway and clearing on either side. I appraoched it for less than a minute, slowed down to 20 mph and drove through it slowly, the interior of my car lit up an intense red but only for a second. Of course I was by myself, and my wife doesnt believe me, nobody does. Human nature to not believe until it happens to you i guess. Glad to see that other people have done it too.
  • a friend of mine claim he seen a rainbow land on a beach and the sand was multi colored
  • I was jet spray washing my car on a beautiful summers day and I was surrounded by the spray mist and there was a full circular rainbow with the colours shining on me and my car. Mine was an artificial rainbow of sorts but maybe there's some explanation there to the cause of yours. :o)
  • From the Wiki: A rainbow does not actually exist at a location in the sky, but is an optical phenomenon whose apparent position depends on the observer's location. All raindrops refract and reflect the sunlight in the same way, but only the light from some raindrops reaches the observer's eye. These raindrops are perceived to constitute the rainbow by that observer. Its position is always in the opposite direction of the sun with respect to the observer, and the interior is slightly brighter than the exterior. The bow is centred on the shadow of the observer's head, or more exactly at the antisolar point (which is below the horizon during the daytime), appearing at an angle of approximately 40°–42° to the line between the observer's head and its shadow (this means that if the sun is higher than 42° the rainbow is below the horizon and cannot be seen unless the observer is at the top of a mountain or a similar vantage point).
  • i sadly did not get to stand in the end of the rainbow i saw hitting the ground, but i did take a picture so there is proof!!
  • My friend and I experienced the same exact thing in Rochester, NY. We were driving east at around 6 pm just as the sun was about to set. There was a brief rainstorm just above us, and a big rainbow appeared directly in front of us. As we came over the crest of a hill there was a bright flash of light, We went right through the rainbow! We both sat silent for a second, and then expressed our radical moment by laughing and asking each other how it was possible. Your not alone!
  • I'm so glad that someone else has driven through a rainbow too. I did it with spouse and mum-in-law. If you have eyes to see light (and water mist) and the conditions are right you too CAN drive through a rainbow. Also one the day of this event there where several little rainbows falling onto the road too, also in different places. It's good to believe what you see with your your own eyes and to doubt the experiences of others, but it doesn't make you right. In this case those people voicing such emphatic claims that it is impossible because they have not had this experience or been told by some 'authority' that it is possible are clearly VERY IGNORANT.
  • Yes!I drove thru a rainbow once and passed thru 3 colors that I can remember.I tried to share the experience and recieved the same response.
  • Yesterday, south of Pittsburgh,the yellow light of a rainbow touched the ground.Trees,houses,and everything it hit turned yellow as the rainbow traveled about 60 miles per hour along Route 79.Traffic slowed as thousands of drivers were witnessing this amazing sight.
  • anywhere there is water vapor and light to refract through it, you can have a rainbow. water evaporating off of a road, with the sunlight at a certain angle could do it.
  • The reason a rainbow shines in its various colors is that the sun hits the water droplets at a certain angle that refracts a particular shade of the color spectrum. You have to have the sun behind you to see this. As you pass through the rainbow, you change the observation angle and the colors are no longer uniformly highlighted. The water droplets become a chaotic mass of color similar to "white noise" only with color. It is not a pleasant sight to see.

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