What superpower would you have? Some of us would choose things like flying or invisibility, but what if you could magically make it rain, literally? For Charles Hatfield (1875-1958), this wasn’t a fantasy; Hatfield could literally MAKE RAIN!

Born in Kansas and later moved to Southern California, Hatfield studied pluviculture (rainmaking) as a young man, and in 1902 claimed that by mixing 23 chemicals in an evaporating tank, he could attract, not make, (but it’s close for confusion) rain. He adopted the title “moisture accelerator” (seriously? I mean, you had Rainmaker!!)

He then saw his magical superpower pay off. He was paid $50 to make some rain, but it was raised to $100 after seeing how good it was. (though it may have been a storm that was coming, but who knows?) He made 18 inches of rain for Los Angeles and earned $1000 for it. He even attempted to make rain for miners in the Yukon Territory for a whopping $10,000, but to no avail (or some, as he collected $1,100 in expenses).

His big break, though, came in late 1915 when San Diego wanted him to do his stuff and fill their empty Morena Dam reservoir. He would be paid $10,000 for his work and was all set by early 1916.

On January 5, heavy rain began, but it grew larger as the days continued, and so did the problems. Once-dry riverbeds were now at the threat of flooding, bridges collapsed, trains were marooned, farms and homes were wiped out, phone cables were ripped, and dams overflowed. This nightmare continued until January 20, when the rain stopped, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

For now, anyway.

On January 22, the rain resumed, and five days later, the Lower Otay dam broke, causing more chaos and took the lives of around 20 people. It was all chaotic.

Eventually, the rain had to stop at some point, because on February 4, Hatfield said that the rain damage wasn’t his fault, and argued that he should be paid for his rainmaking action, because even though the city was destroyed, 20 people died, and hundreds upon thousands of lives were changed forever, the reservoir was full (I mean, you can’t argue with that!) He argued his case, and in 1938, it was decided that it was an act of God, and Hatfield shouldn’t be paid.

Hatfield died in 1958, taking his rainmaking instructions with him to the grave, and he claimed he had hundreds of successful rainmaking attempts in his life.

Who knows? Maybe a modern version of Hatfield will come along at some point and do the exact same actions he did…y’know what? Maybe not. I don’t wanna get flooded!