Interesting...

The loudest noise
According to several sources on the net, the loudest noise ever known was produced by the volcanic eruption of Mt Krakatoa, near Java, in 1883. The sound of the volcanic eruption was heard in Perth, Australia, and as far away as Mauritius (5000 km).

Did you know…
Many people experience hearing difficulties after having been exposed to loud music.
It is estimated that 72% of all Englishmen who frequently go to rock or pop concerts experience hearing difficulties.

Who is Bono?
The origin of the name of U2’s lead singer has been attributed to a dog food and the Latin phrase for 'good voice'. The most widely accepted explanation seems to be that he was named after a hearing aid shop. There was a shop in the O'Connell Street area of Dublin which sold 'Bonavox' hearing aids, and people reckon he may have adapted the name to become Bono.

4 minutes 33 seconds
A musical piece exists which has no sound at all. It was composed by the American composer John Cage in 1952. It is called '4 minutes 33 seconds'. It was composed for any instrument or combination of instruments and the score instructs the performer not to play the instrument during the entire duration of the piece. The piece actually consists of the sounds of the environment the listener hears while it is performed.

Noise versus music
Legend has it that Keith Moon (drummer with The Who) was standing in the lobby of a mid-western American hotel, with his portable cassette player blasting out some of the Who's latest work. After a few minutes, the normally crowded lobby had become deserted so the hotel manager asked Keith to turn the “noise” down to a quieter level. In true rock and roll spirit, Moon kept playing his tape at a really high volume - cue another plea from the manger to turn the noise off. This battle of wills continued until the manager told Keith that if he didn’t turn the machine off he'd call the police. It was time for a compromise. Moon said he would go back to his room if the manager would go with him. This seemed a bit strange but it was agreed and the pair went up to Keith's room on the 9th floor. When they got there, Moon asked the manager to wait outside the door while he went inside. Shortly after, Moon came back out - followed by a dynamite explosion coming from his bathroom. As smoke filled the hallway, Moon turned to the horrified manager and calmly explained, "That my friend is noise. This on the other hand," as he turned on his cassette player again, "is The Who."

Can you hear this?
Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in 1876, the year the phone was invented.

What a sound can do
An article in the Sept 04 edition of Reuters Health reported that loud music can collapse a lung. Researchers described the cases of four young men who suffered a lung collapse - technically called pneumothorax - that appeared to be triggered by loud music. Three of the men were at a concert or club when the incident occurred, while the fourth was in his car, which had a 1,000 watt bass speaker. Researchers believe if doctors routinely ask pneumothorax patients about their exposure to loud music, the reported number of injuries will increase.

Aren't we clever?
Humans are the only animals that can copy the sounds of their own speech and understand the meaning.


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