Have you been hearing a lot more fireworks in recent weeks? You're not alone: The Los Angeles Times reports that in the first 19 days of June last year, New York City's non-emergency 311 line logged only 27 complaints about fireworks. In the same period this month, that number was 6,385.
In Boston, police said they received more than 1,400 calls about fireworks during the first week of June, compared with 22 the year before, while similar upticks have been detected in cities like Los Angeles and Baltimore.
Among the theories being floated for why there are so many more fireworks being set off is that after being stuck indoors for month, bored residents have resorted to lighting pyrotechnics out of boredom, while commercial firework dealers may be flooding the personal-use market to compensate for the cancellation of numerous Fourth of July extravaganzas.