Mysterious Booms Shaking New Jersey Town Were a ‘Hail Cannon’ to Protect Crops

Mysterious “booms” have literally shaken a small town in New Jersey, where residents were baffled by the house-rattling sounds. But now the mystery has been solved, as vineyard owner Rob Butkowski said his homemade “hail cannon” is behind all the noise. Butkowski’s cannon blasts shockwaves into the sky. The goal is to break up cloud formation and scare away birds that he said eat his grape crop. Butkowski said he is within his rights to use the cannon.