Exploding tree

Exploding trees are a phenomenon mostly heard taking place in the northeastern United States and Canadian wilderness, and usually concerning maple trees. On April 1, 2005, this was the subject of an April Fools hoax covered by National Public Radio, stating that maple trees in New England had been exploding due to a failure to collect their sap, causing pressure to build from the inside. [1]

In the Canadian wilderness, though, maple trees actually have been known to explode due to the extreme cold causing the sap inside to expand. This often leads to a sound commonly perceived as similar to a gunshot when the tree actually explodes, startling any potential people nearby. It is highly likely that anyone standing next to a maple tree when it explodes will get injured, and there is a possibility of fatalities.