2020-06-23 Night Noises Summer is here, and in the DC metro area, that means humidity. Thick, warm, inescapable humidity. On one especially muggy night recently, I decided to sleep in the basement since the upper floors of the house hadn't cooled off enough. That's when I learned that there is a circus in my basement every night. I put a blanket on the carpeted floor and fell asleep pretty quickly, relieved at the cooler temperature than in the upper floors. But within an hour, probably just as I was hitting deep sleep, I was startled awake by noises: and music too. It turns out that the baby toys in the basement come to life at night and start playing their noises. It's a pretty rude way to wake up. And when you're groggy and disoriented in the dark, they're hard to turn off too. I'm glad I did figure it out, because I was about this close --> <-- to smashing them to bits to end the music and sound effects. The culprits: a ride-on, bouncy zebra, a "musical door", and a push-and-ride cart with a button for playing music. Each of them has one or more mechanisms that causes them to make sounds or music when the toy vibrates, and something about the night air evidently sets them off. (Maybe my snoring?) The next time I sleep in the basement, I'll be sure to check their off switches before turning off the lights.