Mysterious static electricity force field outside Google office prompts hair-raising questions

Engineers have been digging to find power source, but energy build up still unexplained

A mysterious static energy force field outside of Google’s offices in central London is lifting up the hair of passersby — with engineers still vexed despite digging up the road to find the source.

A number of people have reported feeling in and having their hair zapped by the force field at St Giles in London.

One early video shows a man, Simon Legrand, walking towards the area as his hair is slowly picked up. “It feels really weird on my forehead,” he says.

After a few moments of waiting, a loud buzz is heard and Legrand says that the charge is affecting his phone.

One Reddit user described having visited the area and finding the same effect. When he visited again at 2am and the restaurant was closed, the static effect was not there, he said.

Reddit users speculated that the static energy could be caused by warm hair from the restaurant's ventilation unit. But he said that engineers had been digging up the street and had not yet isolated the cause.

Other Reddit users reported feeling strange after passing through the area.

“I definitely don't feel well,” said one Reddit user. “I was stupid and went in a second time to shoot the video after another passerby got her hair turned into a giant blond afro in the same spot. She was not laughing.”

Google said that it would not comment on the reports.