The sunny and warmer weather will continue through the weekend. Temperatures will rise to the mid to upper 80s on Saturday, and should peak near 90 degrees Sunday and Monday before falling off mid-week with the passage of a cold front. By Thursday and Friday of next week high temperatures will fall back into the 70s. While we may see some cloudiness with the passage of the front, it’s not likely they will produce any rain showers.

We were talking about “Murder Holes” in castles, which were used to pour boiling water through to repel invaders. Water wasn’t the only weapon available through the Murder Holes. They were also very handy places in which to launch missiles of various kinds down on attacking forces, such as large rocks or other castle detritus. I have seen it proposed that heated sand may also have been used, which can get a lot hotter than any fluid can. Lead is also a possibility, since most castles kept a supply of it for repairing roofs. But if you want a candidate that would give you that nice flaming effect, the most likely substance was pitch. Pitch was used to caulk and to preserve things like rope, and it liquefies AND catches fire when heated. It seems pitch might have been the medieval napalm of choice.