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Posted: 29-11-2012 23:55 Post subject:

yes she is my fortean sidekick ... she reads a few pages of every issue ... mainly the alien big cats and cats with wings and goats standing on donkeys ... but mainly cats ... wont be long before shes on here herself i bet !

Posted: 30-11-2012 09:28 Post subject:

Posted: 30-11-2012 10:45 Post subject:

very good point although theres only so much i can do about that

Posted: 30-11-2012 11:22 Post subject:

Posted: 07-01-2013 20:16 Post subject:

Posted: 07-01-2013 20:20 Post subject:

that must surely have been pupil-instigated and propagated rumour mongering ...

Posted: 20-01-2013 19:55 Post subject:

Yes, I would agree that these sorts of 'playground panics' were created and propagated by pupils rather than being some kind of test designed by teaching staff. i recall that sometime around 1980 a rumour went around the playground of our village school in Devon that an aircraft was due to fly overhead at some point and that it would signal the end of the world (the implication possibly being that it would drop an atomic bomb). As far as I recall, it was suggested it would be sent or even piloted by Colonel Gaddafi. I remember keeping an eye on the sky throughout lunch and afternoon break but, of course, nothing of the sort materialised. I don't think we ever questioned how one plane could bring about the end of the world or why but it sounded plausible to young minds at the time!

Posted: 05-03-2013 19:54 Post subject:

This morning, as I was walking to university -- so around 8.55am -- I heard a WWII 'Moaning Minnie' air-raid siren being sounded. It seemed to be somewhere about a mile away (you could hear it above traffic noise, but it was clearly attenuated).

I was immediately fearful that this heralded a nuclear attack.

The only thing that prevented me from starting to panic was a florist setting out her stall nearby, who carried on calmly as though nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. I assumed therefore that she was familiar with the noise, so it couldn't be an emergency. (Now I realise that this was probably an unsafe assumption, she could have been deaf for all I know).

For the 10-15 seconds or so in which I didn't know what was going on, I was right back at school with the nuclear paranoia I thought I had grown out of. I was even looking for open doorways so I could duck inside. Scary how this stuff sticks with you.

I have absolutely no idea why an air-raid siren was being sounded during rush hour in SW London.

We had several End Of The World scares when I was at middle school (1980-1984), all of which (from recollection) scheduled the appointed hour at 10am. On one occasion -- the last I suspect -- the headmaster got wind of it and prolonged that morning's assembly until 10am was safely past. This didn't reassure the doom-mongers, and news promptly spread that The End Of The World had been postponed until 10pm instead. Oddly, I don't recall anyone turning up at school the next day seeming relieved. We just carried on as though nothing untoward had happened.

No weird tests that I can recall, though.

Posted: 05-03-2013 23:02 Post subject:

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago in Germany. I was sitting in the garden of a friend's flat in a quiet, suburban area on the outskirts of Munich when all of a sudden a moaning Minnie siren started up, pretty close by and fairly loud!

I also panicked. I was sure some sort of attack was underway but quickly realised that nobody around was taking any notice of it. Weird. I'm familiar with those sirens. I can even remember old WW2 sirens being set off in my town occasionally when I was a child and it never bothered me but now as a skittish adult that familiar wail spells doom in the manner of Pavlov's dogs!

Posted: 05-03-2013 23:25 Post subject:

Posted: 06-03-2013 20:02 Post subject:

Mystery Sirens thread here:
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32801

Plenty of food for thought! Interesting to know they're still heard.

Posted: 07-03-2013 13:30 Post subject:

I might have an explanation for the air raid sirens...

I work in the construction/mining industry and we still use the sirens. If one of our quarries is blasting the siren will sound shortly before the blast to give everyone warning, and then sound afterwards to give the all clear. During demolition work if an explosion is imminent a siren will again be used as a warning. Usually this is for the benefit of the residents so they won’t be startled by the noise or the rumble!

(for those wondering why they didn’t hear the explosion...using explosives for quarrying/demolition is an extremely regulated activity because it’s highly dangerous. It’s not just the outward force and flying material you need to worry about, but also the shockwaves going into the ground which can cause damage for miles around. Explosions are tightly controlled and often directed to cause the minimal amount of disruption. Sometimes the explosion can be barely noticeable from a distance, and if you’re not in a quiet environment it can be easy to miss)

The sirens have to be loud to ensure everyone in the vicinity can hear it. For people hearing the mystery sirens it could be that you’ve simply heard one being used in a local quarry/building site. If the wind is blowing in a certain way you can hear the siren for miles. No phantom sounds from the 1940s I’m afraid, just some builders and quarrymen blowing stuff up!

I once had a phone call from a friend whilst I was at work, and the siren went off nearby. There was a pause, then he asked “...was that an air raid siren?” I told him that my job involved fighting Nazis Laughing

Posted: 07-03-2013 18:48 Post subject:

I have posted elsewhere on the forum (as it seems with most of my posts these days) about a siren that sounds in Stockholm on the first Monday of each yearly quarter. It sounds at 3pm and is audible in the entirety of greater Stockholm. I live a 20 minute drive from the city centre and I can hear it clearly.

There are horns and speakers placed in public buildings and in the attics of private homes (who receive a fee for allowing the sirens to be there). This siren is part of a warning system designed to let residents know of an impending disaster or attack. It can be sounded in the event of disaster, fire, flood, attack or you name it really. There are different types of signal depending upon the perceived danger.

The first time I heard this I was seated in an office in the centre of the city. All of a sudden the sirens sounded. The streets were instantly filled with the echoing, urgent sound of impending doom. It was god awful and I almost sh*t myself. I had no idea what was going on and I really thought it was a type of 3 minute warning. I looked around and not a soul stirred. It was as if they couldn't hear it.

Afterwards, I asked what it was for and nobody could tell me nor could they tell me what i should do if it sounds for real.

Posted: 08-03-2013 17:07 Post subject:

You guys know we have an entire thread devoted to Mystery Sirens, right? Smile

Posted: 09-03-2013 13:43 Post subject:

We are in the process of buying a new house and were chatting with the current owners yesterday who said that when they bought the house there was a thing that came up in the searches about a nearby plastics factory. This told them what to do if the sirens sounded.