With the rainy season fast approaching, now's a great time to dust off the ol' umbrella and make sure it still opens and closes. While you're at it, you can celebrate everybody's favorite fate-testing holiday, National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day! Created by Thomas Edward Knibb of Frederick, MD, this important annual event is a science experiment of sorts, intended to test whether lousy luck is real and can be caused by opening an umbrella indoors. Read on for our tips on doing it right.

Watch Out for the Pointy Things! 

They're called "tips," and they could put someone's eye out! Or knock your favorite Ming vase off the shelf and pictures off the walls. Be sure there's nothing easy to topple nearby when you open your umbrella and instruct any bystanders to don their safety goggles.

Seriously, Those Tips Are a Menace 

They could also hook into things as you open your umbrella, launching your birthday bouquet across the room, ripping doilies out from beneath whatever is sitting atop them, and sending your reams of important paperwork skittering across the tabletop and all over the floor. Please be careful. 

Jot Down Any Unlucky Occurrences

In order to truly make this a scientific study on the effects of opening an umbrella indoors, you need to record the results properly. Did an anvil fall on your head as soon as you opened your umbrella? Did a pipe burst, or did your ice cream scoop fall off the cone? Write it all down! And maybe avoid busy streets and walking on railroad tracks for a while. Just to be safe. 

You're All Set!

Yep, that's about all the advice we've got on opening an umbrella indoors. You've got this! Good luck.

For more tips on testing your luck, visit the Canopy at Citrus Park blog.