Court blocks Idaho law restricting trans students' restroom use
By Brendan Pierson A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school students to use the
2023-08-11 23:23
Superb Bol strikes double gold after anchoring Dutch team to relay title
Femke Bol produced an astonishing anchor leg for the Netherlands in the women's 4x400m relay on Sunday to claim her second gold medal of the...
2023-08-28 04:21
Ben Roethlisberger takes ill-timed shot at Patrick Mahomes
From one Steelers legend to a Chiefs one in the making, Ben Roethlisberger dissed a part of Patrick Mahomes' game that will have fans scratching their heads.
2023-09-11 02:19
Turner among seven from World Cup on USA Gold Cup squad
Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner, Seattle striker Jordan Morris and Inter Miami defender DeAndre Yedlin were among seven World Cup players named Monday to the...
2023-06-13 04:58
Russia fines Apple for not deleting 'inaccurate' content on Ukraine conflict
MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Moscow court fined Apple 400,000 roubles ($4,274) on Thursday for not deleting "inaccurate" content about what Russia
2023-08-04 02:58
Analysis-Chocolate makers' prospects sour as cocoa prices spike
By Maytaal Angel, Jessica DiNapoli and Richa Naidu LONDON/NEW YORK Chocolate makers like Hershey and Mondelez face tougher
2023-08-18 11:28
Jimmy Graham makes Saints fans believe it’s 2013 again
Jimmy Graham turned back the clock with two monster catches in the New Orleans Saints' preseason finale.
2023-08-28 10:50
German Business Outlook Reaches Six-Month High in Sign of Hope
Germany’s business outlook improved for a third month in November, pointing to an impending recovery for an economy
2023-11-24 17:23
No one has been able to handle more than 45 minutes alone in this room
We all crave a bit of peace and quiet every now and then; just some time to be alone with our thoughts. But silence isn’t as golden as we’ve been led to believe, according to the people who’ve been to the quietest place on Earth. You might expect this to be in a remote part of some great desert whereas, in actual fact, it’s located in a research lab in Minnesota. Inside the anechoic chamber at Orfield Laboratories, it is so silent you can hear your own blood flowing and bones moving. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Made of 3.3ft-thick fibreglass acoustic wedges and double walls of insulated steel and thick concrete, the room absorbs 99.99 per cent of sound. The conditions within its Fort Knox-style walls are so intense that the longest amount of time anyone’s been able to endure in there is 45 minutes. “We challenge people to sit in the chamber in the dark,” the lab’s founder Steven Orfield told Hearing Aid Know. “When it’s quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear. You’ll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. “In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound." What he means by this is that, with the absence of external noise, your ears are forced to adapt to unimaginable silence and start to focus inwards on your own mind and bodily functions. Furthermore, after as little as 30 minutes subjects begin to hallucinate. Orfield explained that it is also impossible to stay in the room for more than half an hour without sitting down because a person’s orientation is largely grounded in the sounds they make when moving. "How you orient yourself is through sounds you hear when you walk," he told the Daily Mail. In the anechoic chamber, you don't have any cues. "You take away the perceptual cues that allow you to balance and manoeuvre. If you're in there for half an hour, you have to be in a chair." The Quietest Place on Earth: Orfield Laboratories youtu.be For anyone who reckons they could top that 45-minute record, it is possible to experience the chamber for yourself. The Laboratories offer a tour, named “The Anechoic Experience”, which enables participants to take on the challenge, provided they’re willing to fork out a cool $600 (around £470) per hour for the privilege. The Orfield website states: “We have witnessed many seeming miracles, some of which have explanations and some of which remain mysteries, as a result of time spent in our anechoic chamber. “We remain curious about the nature of the chamber's impact on all people, its therapeutic properties, and how it can influence human perception. While anechoic chambers are traditionally used to study products, ours is becoming also about the people. “The Anechoic Experience is designed to be an opportunity to personally inquire about the chamber's therapeutic and spiritual effects.” We reckon we might be better off just lying in bed with the duvet over our heads next time we want a moment's peace. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-06-19 21:45
Mercedes plans new electric van platform, 20% cost cuts by mid-decade
By Nick Carey LONDON Mercedes-Benz's van unit said on Tuesday that it plans a new, scalable platform for
2023-05-16 20:46
Braves first MLB to clinch playoff berth this year, rally to beat Pirates 5-2
The Atlanta Braves became the first team to clinch a playoff berth, rallying to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 as Matt Olson went 2 for 3 with three RBIs
2023-09-11 04:56
More companies setting 'net-zero' climate targets, but few have credible plans, report says
A growing number of companies are pledging to cut their greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” to curb climate change, but a report says the goal is rarely supported by a credible plan
2023-06-12 06:54
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