what was that boom
You’re probably seeing “what was that boom?” because it has become a kind of meme / go‑to phrase for unexplained loud noises and local mystery news, especially on forums and Reddit.
Below is a Quick Scoop –style breakdown.
what was that boom
What people mean by “that boom”
When people say “what was that boom,” they’re usually talking about:
- A single, sudden, house‑shaking bang that feels like an explosion.
- Windows rattling, car alarms going off, pets freaking out, but no obvious damage.
- Police or local agencies getting flooded with calls and then saying they can’t find a clear cause.
Online, the exact phrase “what was that boom” is now used as a shorthand link or in‑joke for these events.
Real‑world causes people actually find
In a lot of past “mystery boom” incidents, the eventual explanations have included:
- Sonic booms from jets
- Military jets going supersonic can create a boom that sounds like an explosion and shakes houses across a wide area.
* These often lead to hundreds of calls to police or emergency lines in just a few minutes.
- Small explosions / industrial noises
- Things like quarry blasts, construction, or industrial accidents sometimes cause very loud bangs that travel far, even if you don’t see smoke or fire from where you are.
- Natural / atmospheric “sky booms”
- There’s a long history of “mysterious booms” reported since the 1800s, sometimes linked to things like atmospheric phenomena or distant thunder‑like events.
- Still unexplained local booms
- Some modern cases end with authorities saying they simply couldn’t locate the source: no damage, no crater, no missing building, but lots of shaken residents.
People will often jump to UFOs, secret weapons, or conspiracy theories in forum threads, but most verified cases end up being something mundane like aircraft or blasting.
How it became a forum phrase
- Users on local and mystery‑focused subreddits share links and ask each other “Do you have the ‘what was that boom’ link?”, treating it like a running reference to past threads about unexplained bangs.
- Videos and news clips about “mysterious booms” get passed around, adding to the vibe that this is a recurring, slightly spooky modern folklore topic.
So today, “what was that boom” works both as:
- A literal question when people just heard a loud bang.
- A kind of meme/tag for “local mystery noise that everyone is speculating about online.”
If you just heard a boom where you are
Since I can’t see your exact location or live feeds, I can’t tell you what specific boom you heard, but here’s what people usually do:
- Check local news and official channels
- TV station sites, city social media, or police/fire updates often post when it’s a confirmed event like a sonic boom, explosion, or training exercise.
- Look at neighborhood / city forums
- Local subreddits or neighborhood groups will usually have a “Did you hear that?” thread within minutes when something big happens.
- Use caution if something seems off
- If you smell gas, see smoke, or notice damage, treat it as an emergency and follow local emergency guidance rather than just treating it as an internet mystery.
Mini viewpoints: why this keeps trending
- Rational view: Most booms have boring physical explanations (jets, blasts, weather/atmosphere), even if they’re not immediately confirmed.
- Mystery/folklore view: The ones that stay unexplained feed a long tradition of “sky noises” and unexplained phenomena stories.
- Forum culture view: The phrase “what was that boom” is now part local‑news cliché, part meme, and part shorthand for “time to speculate.”
TL;DR:
“What was that boom” is both a literal question people ask after hearing a
sudden, explosion‑like noise and an online meme for recurring “mysterious
boom” stories, most of which end up being sonic booms, industrial noises, or
other mundane events—even if they feel eerie in the moment.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.