Bump in the Night

“I’ve run out of ways to say I don’t know.”

Steve Dutch, Wisconsin geologist

Photo by Sherlock Holmes Museum

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? Well, maybe not the people living in Clintonville, Wisconsin (population 4,243) who have been shaken from their slumber recently by bumps in the night. And not the geologist who’s investigating their case. Definitely not the geologist.

Last week, residents of Clintonville were rattled awake three nights in a row by booming noises and shuddering earth. More than 600 called the police to find out what was happening. But the police didn’t know.

City officials looked into it and ruled out military activity and underground methane. They called in Steve Dutch, Wisconsin geologist, to investigate. He said the booms could be caused by a lot of things: subsurface granite cracking, groundwater movement, thermal expansion of pipes, or maybe even an earthquake.

But Mr. Dutch isn’t ready to pick just one answer. What he is ready for is for the questions to stop. When queried for the umpteenth time about the cause of the booms, Mr. Dutch curtly replied: “I’ve run out of ways to say I don’t know.”

Read more:

■  Dry weather causes strange noises in small town, KSFY, March 22, 2012.

■  Amanda Crum, Residents say loud “booms” accompanied quakes, WebProNews.com, March 23, 2012.