Popular Science Winter 2019 Great Issue

I love my Popular Science mag! Online is fine but there is nothing like getting it in the mail., putting it in my bag heading for the beach. I like that it's quarterly, because I get more time to read and I like the quality. If your still looking for a "made in America", gift for someone for the holidays get this and don't worry about what their interests may or may not be. Stranger things have happened.

The winter 2019 issue about  sound is worth a shout out. Because ;

A. I thought that the topic of sound was really boring and

B. What's there to really talk about anyway? and

C. Could I have been more wrong.

Turns out sound affect what we eat how we feel, and how we function. did you know that echolocation is a thing some people use to navigate through the world? Close your eyes and try it.

There is a place considered the quietest on the earth and you do not want to go there. It's called an anechoic chamber  a room completely  void of reverberation and absorbs 100% of sound waves. Get this, it's a six sided box made of 4-inch-thick insulated steel panels.  Every surface is covered with fiberglass 3 feet deep and it's that's not enough the whole thing is balanced on springs and encased in a 12-inch thick layer of cement. A claustrophobics nightmare.

I get sick even thinking about it. But if you dare to go in and you're sure that there is not a bomb or something that prevents someone from opening the door in 10 minutes your ears  start buzzing and in 20 you'll be able to heart your heart beating and you're joints rubbing together.

There's something called ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response). The exploration of the  power of sounds to create rest and relaxation, tingles from the head down and then there are other sounds like a pen clicking that causes pain anxiety anger and frustration. There are artists that collect all kinds of soundx from fabric, heels clicking, swallowing, finger tapping, make-up or paint brushing and combine that into a soundscape!

Did you know monkeys are anatomically correct for speech. Why don't they talk? Or do they?

150HZ could cause your lungs to explode and 55DB (volume of consistent nighttime traffic can cause high blood pressure and an uptick in heart attack risk? And musicians are collecting sound made by a Stradivari violin so we can enjoy them in the future.

It's noisy in the ocean and some really crazy stuff happened before global warming.  In 1893 the volcano Krakatoa erupted and was so loud it amounted to 200 megatons of TNT or 13,000 little  atomic bombs.

And get this sneaky Marc Cuban person. He places uber microphones in his stadium so that the players could be heard talking, their sneakers squeaking the crowds and he put that sound through 60 gargantuan speakers. The fans loved it and the Dallas cowboys (who were a long shot but on that day won).

Not to be outdone restaurants are experimenting with ways to lessen the noise and people do tend to order fried foods when it's loud.

There's a cool guy named Pete Hutchinson who crafts albums, reissues of jazz and classical titles using midcentury equipment he found in Romania and they don't come cheap!


There are scientists names Liberman and Kujawa who are experimenting on animals and should be shut down for breaking the eardrums of helpless guinea pigs and strapping helmets on their tiney heads so they cannot escape. Clearly they need to get some psychological help and shut down their nonsense. 

But otherwise great issue!

I sound off for now!