 Almost everywhere you see images of raindrops and books, cartoons on weather maps, they're teardrop shaped, right? In reality, a raindrop starts out round. As it falls, it becomes flattened on the bottom with a curved top, like a hamburger bun. Yum! But why? As it falls through the atmosphere, the bottom of the raindrop encounters more air pressure, pushing against the bottom and flattening it. If it collides with other raindrops, it grows larger, causing it to fall faster. The drop is distorted into a parachute shape before breaking apart into smaller, rounder drops. The shape of raindrops can help meteorologists predict rainfall amounts and give scientists insight into global rainfall patterns.