Scotland delights world with testicle-themed hurricane
Scotland's no stranger to wind and rain — one of this post's authors regularly sees rain traveling sideways, out to sea, when visiting family there — but "Hurricane Bawbag" seems to have caught the imagination of Britain's most wind-ripped country nonetheless. (Bawbag Twitter / Facebook / merchandise.)
This is probably because someone named the storm after testicles. Bawbag, a Caledonian slang word for the bag of skin that holds your balls, or nads, or huevos, or love spuds, or family jewels, or whatever else you call your bro pair, would more correctly be deemed "Atlantic Mid-latitude Storm Bawbag" if meteorologists had the courage sacks to step out on a limb with their naming conventions. Sadly, though, the official name of the storm is "Friedhelm."
That's not to say that the powers that be haven't given Bawbag some verbal stroking. Scottish parliamentarian Rob Gibson uttered "bawbag" in a televised interview, although with seeming distaste as if an especially hairy one was waving in front of his face. Stirling's local government reportedly used the #hurricanebawbag hashtag. (The authorities must've scrubbed it from Twitter because the city is using #scotstorm now.) If this picture is to be believed, and it probably shouldn't be, the BBC weather team has wrapped its arms around Bawbag.
Why "bawbag"? Perhaps that's what arises naturally from the collective consciousness of a society that doesn't wear underwear under its kilts. I'm guessing that the average Scottish child, by virtue of a shorter vantage point, has seen a hundred actual yarbles by the time he turns 5. Here's an artist's rendition of what Hurricane Bawbag looks like from space... but be warned, there are balls in this picture.
Bawbag's fury seemed to slap the heaviest against trampoline owners. A friend over there reports having seen two trampolines go by her window on Thursday night, but unfortunately she didn't make a video. These Fifers did, and their excitement is already inching toward becoming a meme, with remixes and everything (the kid allegedly caught up with the trampoline down the road):
Here's another trampoline flying by, followed by the laughter of someone who is probably not drinking:
On Twitter, the storm's bawdy name dovetailed nicely with Scots humor:
This video is mostly notable for something rarely seen in Scotland: A soccer ball traveling at high speed.
And on a final note, Bawbag is making it extraordinarily hard to pitch a tent.
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