logo Sign In

The Mosquito

Author
Time
This is interesting: an invention that is no more than a loudspeaker emitting a high-frequency sound that aparently people over 20 cannot hear. It is intended to make teenagers go away from non-loitering zones or whatever, which I feel is kinda "nazi" to me. Nowadays it's being used as a cell phone ringtone by kids, so that their parents and teachers cannot hear it. Now, I am 23, being 24 in a month, and I was able to hear it, although it is VERY irritating. Dogs should go crazy with this thing. Try to see if you can hear it, and if you want please post your age so we can see if it's true that older people cannot hear it.

The audio (mp3)

Please don't listen to it too loud, I am not sure if this is 100% safe, don't want anyone getting deaf here.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
Author
Time
I am 17 and it is pretty annoying indeed. My mom is 56 and she couldn't hear it at all.
http://www.my-musik.com/uploads/zidane006.gif
Author
Time
i'm 27 and i heard it.. wife is 26 and she couldn't.

Author
Time
Maybe men over 20 can, but women over 20 can't?
http://www.my-musik.com/uploads/zidane006.gif
Author
Time
Twenty-eight and I've been DJing loud clubs for 9 years now and good Christ that was annoying.

Great, now my ears are still ringing from it, it seems to spark tinnitus or something.
For as much as some people claim to hate what Star Wars has become, they sure seem incapable of shutting up about it.
Author
Time
I am going to be thirty freakin' five later this year, and I heard it. And I'm a factory worker. You know, lots of ambient noise and stuff slowly eroding your hearing, but I have excellent hearing. I chart all the way across the top of their chart last time they tested me. So I have excellent hearing, I just don't listen.

And that is annoying. I remember going to the computer rooms in high school (all Apple II's) and one of the monitors always bugged me because I could hear when it was on because it made a noise like that.
Author
Time
I'm 19 (so i'm in the range) and I heard it clearly. It wasn't the worst thing ever for 8 seconds but i suppose after a minute you'd want to kill something. I know people who will beat some one for scratching a fork on a plate for a few seconds and I imagine this will send them in to a frenzy. I have two very critical yet tolerant ears. I love my music and movies sounding perfect and I can get irrated by some poor speakers or retarded EQing, but at the same time a sound like that isn't gonna piss me off to no end.

I think my dogs wn't appreciate it but i dubt my dad will hear it. I hope my ears don't get to a point that they can't hear frequencies like that. But it'll happen slowly so maybe i won't notice.

BTW, a TV on in a quiet room with no sound coming from it is unpleasent to me. People always ask my why I turn off TV's that aren't even playing anything and when I tell them they look act like 'm pretending to hear a noise.

Hey look, a bear!

Author
Time
My dad, who is 46, couldn't hear it. However, my mother, who is also 46, could hear it perfectly.

I'm 17, and I definitely heard it.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

Author
Time
Either somthing is wrong with my computer or my hearing is going, cause I couldn't hear a thing.

EDIT after I turned the volume up on my software, I could hear clear as a bell. Good to know that I am not going deaf.
Author
Time
Originally posted by: JarHead413
BTW, a TV on in a quiet room with no sound coming from it is unpleasent to me. People always ask my why I turn off TV's that aren't even playing anything and when I tell them they look act like 'm pretending to hear a noise.
I get that too. I can be in another part of the house and know that there is a TV on. It's like I can sense it or something. And I never leave my TV on standby - I always switch it 100% off.

War does not make one great.

Author
Time
Warbler, it wouldn't mean you are getting deaf. As we get older, the frequency range we can hear sort of moves down to lower frequencies. You are not losing anything, though, the highest note a piano can play is waaaay lower than the frequency I cannot hear.

Originally posted by: Yoda Is Your Father
Originally posted by: JarHead413
BTW, a TV on in a quiet room with no sound coming from it is unpleasent to me. People always ask my why I turn off TV's that aren't even playing anything and when I tell them they look act like 'm pretending to hear a noise.
I get that too. I can be in another part of the house and know that there is a TV on. It's like I can sense it or something. And I never leave my TV on standby - I always switch it 100% off.


I feel that but only on certain TV equipaments, and it gets more clear when a white image is showing. It is not irritating as that "mosquito" sound is, though.

So, based on what we've seen here, I'd say this invention is highly uneffective. People older than 20 can hear it. Perhaps that sound bit is a little bit too low, or maybe the computer sound equipament is not ideal for this, maybe it lowers a little bit the frequency. Also, some who might claim not to hear it might be due to equipament issues.

Later I'll try to make it a little bit higher, up to the point where I cannot hear it anymore, and see if everyone here younger than me can hear it.
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
Author
Time
Hmmm, I'm 27 and I can't hear it. I only hear a click at the beginning and the end.
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
Hyde: Fezzy, man, it's Star Wars.
Author
Time
That's your speakers turning on and off or something like that.
http://www.my-musik.com/uploads/zidane006.gif
Author
Time
Sorry for the double post but I'm really bad at quoting two people at once...

Originally posted by: Nanner Split
My dad, who is 46, couldn't hear it. However, my mother, who is also 46, could hear it perfectly.


Well that scratches my theory then.
http://www.my-musik.com/uploads/zidane006.gif
Author
Time
The age is an approximation. It is really dependent on the amount of high-pitch hearing loss you have and that amount lost will be different from one person to the next. But this range of loss usually starts to present itself once a person reaches 20. That's why the distinction was made. Not everybody will lose it, but, for the most part, people will.

Oh yeah, 31 and I could hear it perfectly.
"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders, the most famous of which is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia'."
--Vizzini (Wallace Shawn), The Princess Bride
-------------------------
Kevin A
Webmaster/Primary Cynic
kapgar.typepad.com
kapgar.com
Author
Time
I've tried to make that sound a bit higher but was unable to. Using Goldwave, whenever I altered the pitch or the speed, in order to get a higher frequency, the result was a clear listenable sound waaay lower than the previous sound. I'm not sure why I can't make it higher...
“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Goering
Author
Time
Bossk is right. the age is when people "typically" start to lose this hearing range. Not when "you" will lose this hearing range. So your mileage may vary.
BTW, I'm 30 and heard the tone clearly.