If the worst sound you’ve heard so far today is your ALARM CLOCK, that’s not bad, even though it didn’t feel like it at the time. (And all the subsequent times the “snooze” went off.)
Someone on social media asked, “What’s a sound everyone should recognize as immediate danger?” And here are the best responses:
1. “If you are traveling on (or under) a slope with snow and you hear a deep whumping sound. Get the heck out immediately.” (There actually IS guidance on what to try to do during avalanches: “Quickly move to lower-angle terrain, less than 30 degrees, and avoid areas underneath steep slopes.”)
2. “Cracking of a tree branch or trunk.”
3. “The sound of a freight train or jet engine nearby if you’re in the middle of nowhere, like deep in the forest. It’s likely either a tornado or a wildfire.”
4. Someone said, “If you’re in the wild: Sudden, immediate silence. If you’re in the city: Anything that sounds too good to be true.”
5. “Someone you know speaking really weird gibberish making no sense and looking confused. Could be a stroke.”
6. “Fire alarm. You’d be surprised how many people don’t do anything when it goes off.”
7. “If you have children: The sound of silence means they are up to no good. Also, the sound of a little plastic step stool or a chair being dragged across the floor.”
8. “When your mom yells your WHOLE name. Or your wife.”
9. “The sound of a dog about to throw up in the middle of the night on a carpeted floor, or, for cat owners, if you hear those ‘techno beats,’ you’re about to have a bad time.”
10. “Lower intestinal gurgling.”
11. “An ‘Oops’ from the dentist, or a hairdresser.”
12. “A ‘Hey Girl!’ or ‘Hey Hun!’ from a high school acquaintance, who’s now a MLM distributor.”
13. “The sound of multiple Teams notifications in a row after-hours.”
