What Leavitt seized on, probably because of his interest in astronomy, was something every New Englander knew: that the weather was topic number one. Leavitt's publication, with its interest in astronomy and crops, was an early Weather Channel. He took note of inclement and especially of freakish weather. And readers noticed. During the cold summer of 1816, when crops froze in July, and snow fell a foot deep in the Berkshires, Leavitt turned to his astronomy to divine the cause: he attributed the cold to sun spots. Had he known about it, Leavitt might have suggested the eruption of Mount Tambora in the East Indies as the cause. But whatever the cause was, readers noticed that Leavitt noticed and hazarded a guess, at least, and one that sounded plausible, at least to their ears. Of such stuff are circulation gains made.