The what the hell is that? thread - weird sounds in your neighborhood

[dessa_dangerous 13,315]

Sometimes the weird sounds can kind of be accounted for, like s- or u-bahn sounds during deepest quietest Sunday night or those f*cking "party boats" on the canal, fireworks at Tempelhofer Feld although it is a ways away.  But some leave me baffled.

 

Over the last couple of days I have heard a familiar sound--though not familiar to this place.  Back in my hometown we lived near the top of a hill on a wide peninsula--so not particularly close to water's edge, not visible from our house either; it is a big peninsula (though the whole city is on a peninsula or isthmus of some type).  It was incredibly rare to hear sea sounds of any type from our home, but a few times a year, almost exclusively on quiet Sunday mornings, you could hear the foghorn from down at the ferry terminal, which was a good few miles away, at the base of the other side of the hill.

 

Cool!  So what the hell is a foghorn doing sounding off in the middle of the daytime in central Berlin, as landlocked a land as any landlubber could wish for?  Any ideas what it could be?  What weird-ass crap can you hear from your place but not explain? 

[lisa13 12,246]

could it be some kind of emergency alert noise that they run every now and again for testing?  when I was a kid, our town's volunteer fire department would test the siren every day at noon.  yeah, every day is a bit much, but similar principle.

 

I heard the strangest snuffling and grunting and scuffling coming from my garden one evening...it was kind of scary and definitely baffling.  I heard it on a couple of occasions after that, too, then I finally went out with a flashlight and poked around...interrupted a couple of hedgehogs getting it on.  PERVY little rascals (by the sound of it at least)   

 

One I have an idea about but not completely certain:  horrible shrieking sound, like a baby being tortured.  Absolutely blood curdling!  I think and sincerely *hope* it's a marder but but I'm not sure what kind of sounds they make.  It's very similar to the scream of a fisher cat but not quite (fishers sound like a satanically possessed baby, who's also being tortured)

 

eta:  nonono - definitely not a cat.  yes cats can make some god-awful noises but this is worse

[LukeSkywalker 7,662]

So far, I wake up by following crap sounds, but explainable: local fire department, horrendous church bells on Sunday morning, glass containers being emptied or when my female neighbour is getting some.

[swimmer 3,707]

This is what twitter is for.   However innocuous the sound (think helicopter overhead, never mind some random blaring siren that can be taken to indicate imminent nuclear destruction), the question "What's that noise?" will usually be asked and answered.    We do have a periodic Wednesday 10 am siren test but that one even gets announced.  The emergency vehicles do annoy me with their loudness.

 

The most dramatic recent one I had was the posh estate agent getting trashed late at night - large stones through windows.   Not sure "hearing it while half asleep in bed" makes for a reliable witness.

[dstanners 1,562]

1 hour ago, lisa13 said:

horrible shrieking sound, like a baby being tortured

Foxes would be my guess.

[Metall 14,576]

1 hour ago, LukeSkywalker said:

So far, I wake up by following crap sounds, but explainable: local fire department, horrendous church bells on Sunday morning, glass containers being emptied or when my female neighbour is getting some.

 

The latter would happen quite frequently at my old apartment.

One fine summer weekend night a party was in full swing on our balcony, and we heard the familiar sexual soundscape start up... same old, same old...

...but this time punctuated by a slow rhythmic sort of slapping sound... no wait... he's spanking her!  Oooohhhh!!

Her wails rose to unheard of heights, to join the spanking rhythm and peak in supersonic squeaks and grunts...

 

The entire balcony filled with guests applauded and cheered. Then clinked glasses, noisily drinking to the health of the happy couple who gave a new meaning to the word couple...

 

Instantly, embarrassed silence fell on their side.

 

...for an hour so.

 

[john g. 37,776]

My old neighbour´s c. 50 year old son has been quiet lately. He goes to a taverna every morning and you hear the gentle sound of his peeing against his mother´s house wall afterwards. He´s a raki drinker. Same again in the  evening,

He does nothing else in life.

He has been quiet the last few days...rumour has it he is " kaputt " (yep, even the Greeks use that word! )..but they usually mean it in the sensé of " dead ".

Haven´t seen him for a few days but he never looked good anyway...

[lisa13 12,246]

not a fox.  foxes sound more like a cross between a bark and a woman screaming (chilling indeed!)

 

 

 What I keep hearing is similar to this but the shrieks are a bit longer.  It has a more baby-like sound.  like a baby getting hoarse from shrieking :/

 

marders are really little and much less aggressive than fishers so I'm not sure if they would muster such an awful racket.  Anyway I have no idea what it is, but that's almost what it sounds like

[jeremytwo 2,752]

Maybe the Germans are invading again. Gather at the Church Hall and send for the Walmington on Sea Home Guard.

[Malt-Teaser 3,728]

Every day (barring Sundays) at 11am there seems to be an air raid over Erding.