Sunset

Equinox 2021 – Shorter Days are Coming

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Where did the summer go? Tomorrow, September 22, 2021, is already equinox, the day when day and night are equally long. From there on, the days are rapidly getting shorter, making it harder to avoid being out in the dark. Last weekend, we had a furry visitor and we barely managed to take the post-dinner walk before it was pitch black. Just in the last week Chicago has lost 21 minutes of sunlight, 13 in the evening and 8 in the morning. Today, the sun rises at 6:37am and is gone again at 6:47pm. It’s hard to adjust your schedule when the light is changing that rapidly, even for us who are tracking it meticulously. Over the summer, we were a little lazy and did not always bring safety reflectors, but that has to change now. Equinox also means safety reflector season because who wants to get caught unseen in the dark? Better seen than sorry!

Safety reflectors are must-haves for dog walkers and dogs alike now when the nights will be longer than the days.

Is a reflective dog leash bright enough?

Using a reflective dog leash is great, but as you can see in the video above, the funflector safety reflectors are brighter. Of course, it depends on what quality and how much reflective material the leash has, so test yours so you know. The brighter the reflectors the further away the drivers can see you. This is particularly important along streets with faster traffic. Our leash might be bright enough on a residential street with very slow traffic, but for a highway, we need more reflective power. We like to hang one reflector in each end of the leash for extra safety.

Red and black ninja safety reflector by funflector
The reflector hanging on the dog leash in the video is a ninja. Available here.

The dog walker needs to be seen too! We have plenty of reflectors hanging on our jacket zipper pulls, but that is of little use when it’s too warm for jackets. So this time of year, reflective slap wraps are the most practical solution. They only take a second to slap on and are easy to wear for walkers, runner and bicyclists.

The funflector team

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Latest sunset of the Year

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Growing up in Sweden, I learned early on to attach safety reflectors to my winter jackets and school bags. However, during spring and summer, no-one wears reflectors and shops don’t stock them. Who needs reflectors when dusk turns into dawn and the sun is up again after about 6 hours? Even in southern Sweden, it wasn’t until August that the nights turned pitch black so that I could not find my way home from the parties without bike lights. I have to point out though, that it is safer to use bike lights and safety reflectors in the twilight hours too so you don’t get hit.

Years later, when I lived in Geneva, Switzerland, friends visited mid June with a suitcase full of pickled herring, small fresh potatoes, snaps/aquavit and other must-haves for a Swedish Midsummer celebration. The warm summer night was perfect for a backyard party. However, by the time we got to the strawberry dessert we realized something was very wrong. Everything tasted right, but something felt wrong. It was too dark! It was pitch black. An evening that slowly, slowly changing into morning without a dark night in-between turned out to be as important as herring and strawberries for that “real” Swedish midsummer feel. And, yes, some of the local guests who came by bike needed their bike lights to find their way home afterwards. If it had been today, I would have given them some safety reflectors too!

Sunset though the old spruce is a sign of midsummer. Photo taken in Libertyville, IL 6/27 2012 at 8:11 pm.
Sunset though the old spruce is a sign of midsummer. Photo taken in Libertyville, IL 6/27 2012 at 8:11 pm.

The Longest Evening is Not at Summer Solstice!

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Latest sunset of the YearRead More »

Latest sunset of the Year Read More »

Darker Days Ahead!

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Today, Sweden is closed. It’s Midsummer Eve and you will have trouble even finding a hotdog stand that is open. Celebrating the longest day of the year is an important business in a country where even the southernmost parts have 17 hour long nights in December. Watch “Midsummer for Dummies” if you don’t believe us:

The Swedish attitude about midsummer lives on in Minnesota, where we found this in a blog post by Paul Huttner “Sunday is a day many Minnesotans wait for all year. After the long dark winter, and generally stormy springs the sun reaches the highest point in the sky in Minnesota.”

On Sunday, June 21st, the north end of the earth axis is tilted towards the sun as far as it goes, which gives us long bright summer evenings.

Sun's angle in the summer by University of California Santa Barbara
Sun’s angle in the summer by University of California Santa Barbara

Unfortunately, that also means that the days will get shorter again, so watch out for dusk. Warm summer nights should be enjoyed outdoors, not in the ER because the driver didn’t see you. It’s better to be seen than sorry!

Check out our red, white and blue reflectors or 4th of July themed reflective slap bracelets for safe and fun summer nights!

Happy midsummer!

the funflector team

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Early Dusk!

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Halloween is over, but it keeps getting darker later afternoons. Today, November 3rd, we’ll loose an hour at night after daylight saving time has ended.
Here is sunset for some cities across North America. If your place is not on the map, look it up here. Type in the closest big city and then click on the tab “Sun & Moon”! The chances are quite slim that you’ll be home before 5 pm every day, so pedestrian reflectors will come in handy when you walk to and from your car, bus, train, house, work etc. Be bright when it’s dark and you need to cross a street! Our web shop is filled with fun pedestrian reflectors for everyone in the family. Hang reflectors on baby’s stroller, on grandpa’s walker and on jackets and on bags, purses and backpacks for everyone else!

Sunset in major cities after daylight saving times starts on November 3, 2013
Sunset in major North American cities after daylight saving times starts on November 3, 2013


Here is the full list of sunset for November 3rd, 2013:
Boston 4:35 pm
Montréal 4:38 pm
Anchorage 4:41 pm
Chicago 4:42 pm
New York 4:50 pm
Portland 4:54 pm
Denver 4:55 pm
Los Angeles 4:58 pm
Minneapolis 4:58 pm
St. Louis 4:58 pm
Toronto 5:05 pm
Vancouver 5:05 pm
Washington 5:05 pm
Calgary 5:06 pm
San Francisco 5:09 pm
New Orleans 5:11 pm
Salt Lake City 5:21 pm
Dallas 5:34 pm
Phoenix 5:34 pm
Miami 5:38 pm
Atlanta 5:43 pm
Honolulu 5:54 pm

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Reflectors Save Lives, Even in Florida

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The other day, someone living in Florida tried to convince me that we would be better off focusing our reflector sales in the northern states and in Canada. Well, looking at when the sun sets tells us that our reflectors can save lives and reduce pedestrian accidents also in the southern states!
So, how do the dark hours in the northern US states and Canada compared to the south? Well, in the summer, the sun sets earlier in the south. In hot climates, it is also often more pleasant to be outside after the blasting sun has set. We made a map to display sunset for a few North American cities on the longest day of the year. Dusk sets in 15-30 minutes before that.

North America sunset June 21 2011, longest day, shortest night
Sunset (pm) for some North American cities on the longest day of the year. In most places, the sun sets between 8 and 9 pm and dusk begins 15-30 minutes before.

So, what can we conclude from this?

  1. In most places, if you are outside after 7:30 pm (dusk included!), you are safer with a few safety reflectors!!!
  2. This is midsummer. Now and a couple of weeks into July, you need ta make yourself visible even earlier.
  3. We won’t insist on reflectors in Anchorage this time of year – but we will when fall and winter comes around…

This CBS news clip (2018 update: clip not available) from earlier this year shows a frightening accident where a police car hit a pedestrian walking her bike in the dark—in Florida. Imagine how much different this woman’s life would have been, had she worn a couple of reflectors, and had a bike light. Even if the car hadn’t managed to come to a complete stop, slowing down makes pedestrian injuries less life threatening.

Contrary to that, one of our Florida customers is well prepared to be out and about any time. Tee ordered funflector® tags from our webshop and sent us this kind note after receiving them : “Elisabeth – I rec’d my reflectors on Saturday.  I couldn’t believe how quickly you were able to ship them!  I love the funflector tags (they are on my bike & backpack already!)  and I appreciated your email response and your personal note on the shipment receipt.  I will definitely be passing on the word about your products to people that i know. Thanks again!!  🙂  -Tee”

Enjoy the summer nights and stay safe!

Elisabeth

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