The first couple of days in Dublin the weather was terrible.  It was raining with gusty wind.  We didn't have umbrellas so we went to some off-street store and got some for 2 Euros.  Believe it or not they have held up, unlike the one in the photo (someone was frustrated).  Anyway, in Seattle the rain is generally light (but constant) so people usually don't use umbrellas.  As such we were not aware of the unspoken code of umbrella etiquette.

First, always pay attention to people coming in the opposite direction.  Dale was walking with his umbrella and hit someone else's umbrella coming in the opposite direction.  Apparently, because he was taller he should have raised his umbrella to avoid smacking umbrellas.  He didn't notice but the woman with the umbrella that got hit was very irritated.  So when you are walking with an umbrella be aware of oncoming traffic.

Second, always be careful when you open your umbrella. We found some protection in a pub when it was raining really hard.  On the way out, I opened my umbrella.  I was a few feet away from the guy in front of me but when I opened my it, all the water on it flew into the guy's face, with force.  I got a really bad look but when I apologized  he could not have been nicer.

So mind your umbrella on the street.