The Windsor Hum: The Low Rumble That Crossed a Border and Baffled Two Countries

Aerial view from the east of Zug Island in Detroit, Michigan, in 2011: the steelworks with its blast furnaces, steaming stacks and conveyor gantries along the Detroit River

About 7 min readSince 2011, residents of Windsor, Ontario, have reported a low, rumbling vibration that rattles windows and steals sleep. Scientists confirmed the sound is real and traced it, with high confidence, to a blast furnace across the river on Zug Island — but the full story is more complicated than a single culprit.