Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2024 April 20

= April 20 =

Random booming sound outside?
So yesterday, I heard this booming noise that kinda sounded like a firework after it exploded. It was 10:30 PM, clear skies, just another regular day. After I heard the noise, I went to Google and searched "what's that booming noise I heard outside" and pulled up a video saying it was because of snow pushing against the road. I was like, "Bro, what? We don't have snow where I'm from." (which is California.) Have any of you experienced the same thing? Thanks,  TWOrantula  TM (enter the web) 14:38, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Kyiv?  ——Serial Number 54129  14:42, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Nope, I'm from California. Also, we don't have any bombs (as far as I know).  TWOrantula  TM (enter the web) 14:44, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Dang it. I think I misinterpreted your response.  TWOrantula  TM (enter the web) 14:44, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I've heard that sort of thing in the Northeast US. Don't know what it was. Jc3s5h (talk) 15:11, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Sonic boom? DuncanHill (talk) 15:14, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Older Wikipedia editors finally going out more...? Martinevans123 (talk) 17:20, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Sonic boom sounds likely. I was woken up by a loud bang in the middle of the night a few years ago, it turned out to be two RAF fighter jets that had been scrambled to investigate an unresponsive airliner (nowhere near a military airbase). Alansplodge (talk) 21:22, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
 * It could be an earthquake that was too small to feel. Presumably there is a web site where you could check for that. --142.112.220.50 (talk) 19:20, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

Where I was yesterday here in south-eastern Australian there were a lot of booms, but we knew they were from bird-scaring "cannons" (usually propane based) to keep birds away from grape and other fruit crops. But I suspect it's not the season for ripe fruit in your area. Maybe something similar though. HiLo48 (talk) 23:44, 20 April 2024 (UTC)


 * If it sounded like a firework what makes you think it wasn't just a firework? And why do you think a worldwide web search engine would know what's happening at that instant at some unspecified location? Shantavira|feed me 08:06, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, for one, I didn't see any bright lights in the sky. Also, it's not Fourth of July. I used Google because... well, it was the only idea I had xd  TWOrantula  TM (enter the web) 19:07, 21 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Many things can boom and be audible from quite far away. Hail cannons (no reason to believe that they work, but enough farmers believe it anyway), boulders tumbling down a mountain, mining, demolition work (not that likely at 22:30, but they may have waited for good weather), criminals blowing up each other's property (or, accidentally, innocent people's property), fireworks (illegally set off) to celebrate a victory of one's favourite sports team, accidental gas explosions, labs making ecstasy or crystal meth blowing up, military exercises ... Endless possibilities. Maybe you can look around to see any damage in your area, check the local news or poll the local gossip. PiusImpavidus (talk) 09:23, 21 April 2024 (UTC)


 * A transformer explosion is quite loud and not uncommon. See for some information. —Amble (talk) 04:09, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
 * , I too live in California and the state gets tremendous amounts of snow in its many high mountain ranges. I live in the Northern Sierra Nevada and snow is commonplace in my county. Cullen328 (talk) 18:16, 26 April 2024 (UTC)


 * You'll have to write it off as a USP (Unidentified Sonic Phenomenon). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 188.220.144.58 (talk) 20:58, 26 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I hear these things all the time. They always turn out to be the echoing reverberation of garbage trucks dumping or picking up their loads, or some kind of construction equipment.  One of the reasons people get obsessed with this is because when the conditions are right, the sound can travel a long distance, making it seem like the boom is nearby, when it could be a mile or a kilometer away. Viriditas (talk) 21:21, 26 April 2024 (UTC)