General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn my community they have this Siren that goes off at 12:00 noon every Tuesday
to test it for use for possible area emergencies, for example if there was a killer Tsunami on its way, it tells you to seek higher ground and or tune into Civil defense Radio for instructions.
My thought used to be "Oh it must be Tuesday at noon" but lately...
When I hear it, it scares me, cause I think, "omg, what's Trump done now??"...
edited to add video.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)Oakland Hills and also when I was upstate in Humboldt County (Arcata), there are sirens that have sounded off Wednesdays at noon. I didn't know some places also do it on Tuesdays. I've never found it scary--just annoying.
titaniumsalute
(4,742 posts)Chipper Chat
(9,708 posts)I was in a small town of 4000 a week ago when I heard a siren reminiscent of the one in the "Do not Feed Vaal" episode of Star Trek. I was oblivious of the time and it scared the crap out of me and yes, I thought Kim has nuked Seoul and his missiles are on the way here also.
Marengo
(3,477 posts)And early 80 's. On several occasions they went off on a day other than Wednesday and the weather was clear. Scared the s**t out of a lot of folks haha.
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,872 posts)Space and Time would fold in on itself and create a black hole that would likely suck in the entire planet, in the wink of an eye!!!
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)Horse with no Name
(33,959 posts)However, if there is bad weather in the area on Thursdays...they postpone the test until the following week.
Also...the test is 3 short blasts of the siren.
If it is continuous, it is not a drill.
ProfessorGAC
(65,427 posts)Around here, it's not every week. It's the first Wednesday of every month at 10am. But, i've always thought what you did. What would people do if a tornado was bearing down at that time. Everybody ignores it, then wham!
missingthebigdog
(1,233 posts)I always think, if some enemy wanted to attack Little Rock, the time to do it would be noon on Wednesday. . .
titaniumsalute
(4,742 posts)If the orange asshole really screws the pooch I'll worry about it then. But I refuse to let him scare me.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Fuck fear.
Jno_Gilmor_
(127 posts)Back in the pre-civil rights era, many towns used to sound an alarm at sundown to tell African-Americans to get out of town before the sun went down. We usually think of the deep South when we think about segregation, but this practice extended all over the country, particularly in the Midwest, and even California.
yuiyoshida
(41,872 posts)but are you sure? You have a link to something??
Jno_Gilmor_
(127 posts)Dimension of American Racism is an excellent book on the subject. I had never heard of it either. I just came across a review of the book a few years back and decided to check it out. It truly was eye opening. You can do a Google search for reviews of the book. Some sites even track ex-sundown towns.
Horse with no Name
(33,959 posts)I grew up in one. They never sounded the sirens though.
There was a sign at the city limits that said "N###$$$ don't let the sun set on you".
Then of course there was Vidor who went further than that.
http://www.michaelcorcoran.net/archives/1688
Kaleva
(36,404 posts)davsand
(13,421 posts)As a kid I'd hear it and check the sky for a storm because in Illinois tornadoes are a threat. If it was a clear day the immediate next thought was the bombs were coming. That was just what life was like for kids in the 60's. To this day I have to stop and think if I hear those sirens and it isn't storming. I know on a conscious level that my immediate area is probably not the highest priority target but it's still a fear that I carry.
I do agree, however, that tRump's behaviors and his batshit crazy foreign policy has left me even more paranoid than a 60's childhood.
Laura.
RockaFowler
(7,429 posts)I live near the St Lucie County Nuclear Facility, so they have these drills every month to let us know that the sirens work. The dogs hate it. Jasmine howls and Hoagie runs under the bed. They also have a voiceover that says this is just a TEST. And yes I get scared as well thinking someone did something at that plant or somewhere else in the country
ProfessorGAC
(65,427 posts)Actually a couple of them. One about 6 miles south and the other about 10 miles west. My dog is ok with them, but the doggie we had before that used to do the howl thing.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)and living out in the country, approximately right in the middle of three different village areas, those signals did echo ominously off the trees.
The sirens still go off for about half a minute everyday at noon, tho they're no longer actually a steam whistle, and when I was back there four years ago, one of the towns tore down their grain elevator which was where the siren had hung, so now my old homestead only hears two noon whistles everyday.
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)Back when I was much younger and Ronnie was in the WH and the Cold War was still on, the sirens went off around 10pm one random night. My Mom and I looked at each other and started to get a little freaked out. This was before we had CNN so we turned on the TV looking through the four stations we got for some news. Luckily it was just a malfunction, but for a moment there...
yuiyoshida
(41,872 posts)neighbor
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)Demsrule86
(68,825 posts)SwissTony
(2,560 posts)The sirens were meant to warn us that Russia was attacking and we should take cover. Completely fooled the Russians who not once thought of attacking at noon on the first Monday of the month.
Hah Hah Hah. Those silly Russians. We sure fooled them!
Some years back, the Dutch government stopped the sirens. They were reinstated a few years later when people complained, believe it or not. I have no explanation.
irisblue
(33,059 posts)Someone was smart.
Yuiyoshida, wow that will give me a grin from now on. Thanks
canetoad
(17,217 posts)12 noon everyday. Used to be a coal-mining town. The steam powered mine whistle was modelled on the great ship sirens with three simultaneous tones. Now it's compressed air, mounted on a poppet head in town.
yuiyoshida
(41,872 posts)burnbaby
(685 posts)at 12:00 in my little town the whistle blows. It gives me this nostalgic feeling