And the winner is...
According to the Institute for Pointless Scientific Research (or, more specifically, a bloke called Trevor from Salford University) a person vomiting is the worst sound in the world. Aside from the fact that many might think Trev might better spend his time, say, researching a cure for cancer, I would take issue with the result. Apparently this is the choice of 1.1 million voters (Them, The Public again) worldwide, but exactly how fair is it? Exactly how many sounds have they heard? Having had cats in the house for many years, I would argue the tortured sounds of a cat vomiting are worse than those of its human counterparts (cat-lovers, leap to my defence. It's true, isn't it?) Second most-hated sound is the infamous "fingernails on a blackboard", but now I come to think of it, I can't recall a single occasion when I've actually heard fingernails being dragged along a blackbard. It certainly isn't something I've ever thought of doing as a little piece of scientific research myself, so that I can conclude, yes, it is pretty awful, isn't it?
In an attempt to legitimate his "research", Trev explained ""From a scientific perspective, we really don't understand why some sounds are so horrible, but our reactions are part of what makes us human. If, as engineers, we can learn what offends people then, in some cases, we may be able to engineer them out of existence or at least reduce their impact." Now, how exactly would engineers act to reduce the impact of the sound of vomiting? Surely that's an issue for the legislators? On-the-spot fines for anyone who throws up outside the confines of a sound-proofed box?
More amusingly, having told us how awful these sounds are, the Guardian has kindly allowed us to download an MP3 file of a person vomiting just so we can double-check it's not a nice sound. Cheers, that really is journalism at its most cutting-edge.
Talking of vomiting, I found this wonderfully gross Rik Mayall (still obsessed from Saturday) quote on that spooky fan site:
"I'll tell you what maked me really sick, though. Drinking a pint of salt water and jamming my fingers down my throat. That makes me really sick, that does, so, like, whenever possible, I try to avoid doing that."
Fair point.
In an attempt to legitimate his "research", Trev explained ""From a scientific perspective, we really don't understand why some sounds are so horrible, but our reactions are part of what makes us human. If, as engineers, we can learn what offends people then, in some cases, we may be able to engineer them out of existence or at least reduce their impact." Now, how exactly would engineers act to reduce the impact of the sound of vomiting? Surely that's an issue for the legislators? On-the-spot fines for anyone who throws up outside the confines of a sound-proofed box?
More amusingly, having told us how awful these sounds are, the Guardian has kindly allowed us to download an MP3 file of a person vomiting just so we can double-check it's not a nice sound. Cheers, that really is journalism at its most cutting-edge.
Talking of vomiting, I found this wonderfully gross Rik Mayall (still obsessed from Saturday) quote on that spooky fan site:
"I'll tell you what maked me really sick, though. Drinking a pint of salt water and jamming my fingers down my throat. That makes me really sick, that does, so, like, whenever possible, I try to avoid doing that."
Fair point.
posted by RLS at 11:51 am
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