We live in an increasingly noisy world, and a new study says that background noise (which we don’t always notice) plays a major role in our unconscious learning and psychological health. The plane roaring overhead, our neighbor’s TV set, the person talking on a speakerphone–all these things affect us, and some people more sensitive to background noise than others.
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There has been a surprising outburst of booming sounds in many US communities lately.
In Columbia County, Georgia, some people said they were so loud that they woke them up at night. On ABC News, Michael Miller quotes Pam Tucker, director of the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency as saying it’s been loud booms and rumbling, and "now we’re hearing about pictures being moved on walls.
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A loud boom rang out on November 24th at midnight, near Fort Wayne, Indiana. It turns out that there have been reports of mysterious booms in that area for months, and so far, no one can explain what’s going on. Wisconsin has been experiencing "mystery booms" as well.
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A hum coming from somewhere in Detroit is driving people across the border in Canada crazy, to the extent that it’s become a become an international diplomatic incident: Canada dispatched an aide to their foreign minister to the area to try to find its source and put a stop to it.
In the April 30th edition of the Wall Street Journal, Alistair MacDonald and Paul Vieira describe the "Windsor hum" as a low-frequency rumbling sound that can be as loud as an idling diesel truck and can rattle windows and knock objects off of shelves. Many Canadians keep their furnaces or air conditioners turned on all the time in order to drown out the noise.
But here’s what’s really strange: People on the American side of the border can’t hear it.
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