?Mistpouffers? ? it?s a funny name for a series of bizarre booms that have been heard in waterfront communities ranging from Bangladesh to the Netherlands, typically described as a cannon sound or extremely loud thunder despite the absence of clouds in the sky. It?s frequently heard on calm summer days in the Bay of Fundy, Canada and has also been reported in Italy, Ireland, India, Japan, the Philippines, Ireland and in several U.S. States. These booms are no modern invention ? the Iroquois explained similar noises to early white settlers as the sound of the Great Spirit continuing to shape the earth.
In 1978, a boom heard on Bell Island off Newfoundland in Canada was powerful enough to damage homes. While some may still believe that it was caused by supernatural phenomena and a recent History Channel special questioned whether secret electromagnetic pulse weapons tests could be the culprit, the cause is still a mystery.
In May 2010, bewildered Pennsylvania residents contacted the local paper about a ?big boom?. ?I heard the boom, and my closed, wooden front door rattled just a little bit,? Kim Owen told the Sun Gazette. ?I didn?t think much about it until a friend, who lives several blocks away, posted a note on Facebook asking if anyone had heard a loud boom.? A similar noise in 2001 later proved to be caused by a meteorite crashing through the earth?s atmosphere.
It could be that these sounds are all caused by meteorite impacts, but other natural causes are possible as well including gas escaping from vents in the earth?s surface or underwater caves collapsing.
