You have located The Green flash Sunset Gnome, a gnome illuminating the rarely seen phenomenon of the bayside green flash, said to take place only when one has had too many rum rummers from Seacrets!
In honor of the green flash phenomenon, the gnome which you have located comes with a very specific quest.
You must email your very own written, visual, or other artwork to berlinfolklore@gmail.com along with a picture of the gnome as validation that you have claimed and secured its little lore gnome body.
Your work will be featured in the subsequent phases of this living art project, further carrying on the local lore!
In our beautiful lore filled OCDM, along the calm waters of the bayside, lucky sunset-watchers sometimes report glimpses of a fleeting mythical emerald light just as the sun dips below the horizon. This is the “green flash”, a rare optical phenomenon that occurs under very specific atmospheric conditions and under the influence of very specific bayside cocktails. Though rooted in science, the green flash has taken on an almost folkloric status among locals and visitors alike! Some say this is a symbol of good luck, love, gnarly surf, and absolution from tomorrow’s hangover!
Scientifically, the green flash is created by the refraction of sunlight through Earth's atmosphere. As the sun sets over the bay, light bends and splits into different colors. Since green light is refracted slightly more than red but still less than blue, and because blue and violet are usually scattered by the atmosphere, a sliver of green can briefly be seen just above the sun’s upper rim, lasting just a second or two, missed at the untimely onset of a simple blink (Young & Schau, 2008).
In Ocean City, the ideal viewing conditions for a green flash usually occur on clear, low-humidity evenings, especially in fall and early spring. While the oceanfront has more atmospheric distortion due to wind and mist, the bayside offers calmer viewing, usually from northwest-facing locations like Fager’s Island, Sunset Park, or the Route 90 bridge area, per local lore.
Locals often speak of the green flash with reverence, treating the phenomenon like a maritime omen, while others consider it a badge of seasoned sunset-watching. Some businesses, like Fager’s Island Restaurant, even subtly market the phenomenon, timing their sunset music ritual (playing 1812 Overture at sundown) to the dramatic close of day, when, just maybe, the green flash will appear.
References
Fager’s Island. (2025). Welcome to Fager’s Island Restaurant and Bar in Ocean City, Maryland. https://www.fagers.com/
Seacrets. (2025). Seacrets Jamaica USA – Ocean City MD Bar, Restaurant, and Nightclub. https://seacrets.com/
Young, A. T., & Schau, J. (2008). Green flashes and mirages. American Scientist, 96(4), 304–311. https://doi.org/10.1511/2008.73.304