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A nation shaped by rain: exhibition celebrates Scotland’s wettest obsession

The Guardian World Wednesday 17 June 2026, 05:00 UTC By Severin Carrell Scotland editor 1 min read
Key Points

Minnie the Minx and Macbeth feature in National Library’s exploration of how rainfall has shaped Scottish science, literature, history and identityIt seems fitting that, 250 years ago, one of Scotland’s foremost scientists took a close interest in what is arguably the country’s most famous feature: rainJames Hutton, celebrated by Scots as the father of modern geology, went so far as to write a formula for “a theory of rain”. In 1784, he sketched out the key principles for the “condensation...

Minnie the Minx and Macbeth feature in National Library’s exploration of how rainfall has shaped Scottish science, literature, history and identity

It seems fitting that, 250 years ago, one of Scotland’s foremost scientists took a close interest in what is arguably the country’s most famous feature: rain

James Hutton, celebrated by Scots as the father of modern geology, went so far as to write a formula for “a theory of rain”. In 1784, he sketched out the key principles for the “condensation of aqueous vapour contained in the air”.

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Scotland (LOCATION) Minnie (PERSON) Macbeth (PERSON) National Library’s (ORG) Scottish (ORG) Hutton (ORG) Scots (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian World Read original →

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