Nissan Fires Cannons, Annoys Neighbors

The plant in Canton, Mississippi in an effort to protect some 12,000 cars worth about $400m, has set up an automated "hail cannon." Theoretically, the system prevents hail over an approximately 1-mile radius by vibrating water droplets in the air that form hail, disrupting the hail-forming process. While there's no scientific evidence that it prevents hail, people at the plant insist that it works. What really has the ire of the community however, is the 50dB blast (about the same noise level as a highway) of each shot, sometimes continously. Nissan has addressed the latter issue, at least.