Dog days in 1995; Florence and the Machine's 2009 "Dog Days Are Over"; and Within Temptation's 2013 "Dog Days". "Dog-day" promotions are also a common feature in baseball, used by American ballparks to boost ticket sales during mid-afternoon games. Dog days The dog days or are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star system Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The
MV Sirius Star loaded with oil. She was estimated to be worth approximately , with her cargo worth at least . "Sirius Star" was released on 9 January 2009 after payment of a US $3 million ransom. Three other VLCCs that have been ransomed by pirates are "Samho Dream", "Maran Centaurus" and "Irene SL". "Sirius Star" is a double-hulled oil tanker with a length overall of , a beam of , a hull depth of , and a draft of . She can carry of crude oil. She has a gross tonnage of 162,252 and a total cargo capacity of . Vessels of