Posted 10.10.2012 at 11:30 am
5 Comments
Sabrage
sampos via Flickr
Sorry, nails-on-chalkboard. The perceived wisdom that you are the worst sound in the world has been upset by a recent Newcastle University showing that the screech produced by a knife scraping a bottle (listen here) is the most unpleasant sound in the world, as determined by MRI scans measuring the brain’s response to 74 different sounds. Interestingly enough, nails on a chalkboard came in fifth--behind chalk on a chalkboard, which ranked third. Hear all these horrible, horrible sounds over at The Telegraph.
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LOL ... that didn't sound like typical chalk on a blackboard. I had to check to see what kind of torture we are heaping on our kids.
All the sounds are annoying and I'm sure their tests were well done but I wonder if they somehow missed a particular psychological aspect. I've always thought that the sound of nails on a blackboard is annoying, not just due to the sound but also because it makes me think how horrible it feels too! It even invokes unpleasant memories.
It would have been nice to see the list of 74 and their ranking. The scream theory is certainly plausible but one would think then that a horrible blood-curdling scream would top them all.
Doesn't bother me at all. But then I'm nearly deaf ha. What bothers me is annoying visual pop ups for advertisements on the Internet!
I think the most annoying sound was when I used to thumb through the edges of my notebook while in school. It drove the teachers nuts but because I couldn't heat it sometimes teacher would rap me over the hands to stop! I should have sued for teacher abuse! Today teachers wouldn't dare do that with the abundance of smart phones in a classroom!
I would say 2, 3, and 4 sound worse than the knife on a bottle and that the nails on a chalkboard don't even belong in the top 5
wow don't I mean doesn't