Once upon a time there was an app for the iPhone called Dark Sky. And everyone who tried it said it was good.

It was a weather app and it had the amazing ability to predict the start and stop times of rain down to the precise minute.

Even Apple maven John Gruber was impressed.

Somewhere along the line, however, after about a year or two, it lost that ability and it became just another weather app, and its predictions were just as hit or miss as all the others.

And yet that didn’t stop everyone from continuing to gush over it. Even Apple maven John Gruber.

But its forecasts were often wildly wrong. I once relied on it when I went for lunch when it predicted no rain for the afternoon—and I got drenched an hour later by a deluge when I walked back from the restaurant.

Even, or perhaps I should say especially, its current conditions were often way off base. It claimed it was raining when the sun was shining and vice versa.

And yet, Apple bought it and incorporated its technology into its own weather app.

And now Apple’s weather app suffers from the same problems.

Like today.

I know I should know better, but once again I relied on it when it said that after a short period of light rain, the rest of the day would be cloudy but no more rain. So I waited till after the period of very light, almost non-existent rain, and then went to the Reading Terminal Market without an umbrella. Not even a hoody.

And got drenched on the 25 minute walk back.

Happily, Philadelphia has a lot of trees, so I aimed for the sides of the streets that had the most trees to provide some cover.

So why does everyone still praise the technology of Dark Sky even though it’s only been meh for the past few years?

I assume it must be a case of a great first impression sticking with everyone. But why did Apple fall for it? That’s one of the not so sweet mysteries of life, I guess.