NPR did a story on a sound that apparently only teenagers can hear---very few people over the age of 30 can hear it. It was used initially to ward off teenagers by British shopkeepers but it's now being used by high school kids as their ringtones so that they can get text messages and phone calls without their teacher knowing.
I just played it in my office and cranked the volume up because I couldn't hear a damn thing. Suddenly, Spencer and Yili (both 24) came running into my office yelling "What the HELL is that? Turn it off! It's such an obnoxious sound!". Damn, I'm old.
Download the mp3 of this sound yourself and try to hear it.
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Update: after closing my office door and CRANKING up the volume, I could finally hear it. But interesting how I couldn't hear it at a certain volume and others could.
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Oh yes, that's annoying. In a similar vein, I can often hear a similar high-pitched sound in movie theatre trailers accompanying individual lines of dialog. I'm guessing these lines were re-recorded digitally and it's some kind of carrier frequency that I can hear.
ReplyDelete- Brendan
wow! i can still hear it! i didn't have to turn it up or anything. it felt like my eardrums were moving...annoying! i am proud of my 30 year old ears....and i'm glad to see you diving with matt! tell him i said hello...i visit your site from time to time to catch up on your news. much love,
ReplyDeletechristine