(You believe this?)
Residents of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada woke recently at 7:30 AM to strange loud grinding and whining noises that lasted 10 minutes. Kimberly Wookey was one of three people who recorded and uploaded videos of the sound to YouTube. While this wasn’t the first time she had heard the odd noises, it was the first time she was able to record them. After her video post Wookey received messages from other residents across the province that also heard the noise wondering what caused it.
There are reports of similar sounds from around the world with explanations varying. Wookey told CBC News, “Well I have heard that it could be skyquakes. It could be something from the earth’s core. It could be something magnetic, like the magnetic fields around earth. I, I really have no clue.” The Geological Survey of Canada’s Honn Kao confirmed that the noise was not from any regional seismic activity. Biologists discounted ideas that the noise came from an animal. Despite other theories that the whaling came from a train, residents insisted that it did not come from the nearby tracks.
After all the speculation, Alisa Thompson, City of Terrace spokesperson offered an explanation saying the mystery noise came from the hockey arena parking lot where a city worker was sharpening the blade of a grader. To spread the word, the City of Terrace posted the information on their Facebook page reading in part, “Turns out….. it was us. A City employee was preparing a grader for some work on Lanfear hill and produced that mysterious noise with the grader blade.” But Wookey is skeptical saying, “I’ve heard graders before and I’ve heard trains before and that sound was nothing like that.” Wookey is not alone in her doubt. Others who heard the strange noise in Terrace have been vocal, commenting on the city’s post that they just don’t believe Terrace’s explanation. Thompson said that the city would work to replicate the sound with the grader to set conspiracy theories to rest.