Audio atrocities, for research.

Salford University's Acousitc Research Centre is trying to identify the worst sound in the world. Visitors to the BadVibes site are given an opportunity to hear and rate some truly annoying noises. From the press release:

Fingernails scraping down a blackboard… the scream of a baby… your neighbour’s dog barking: what’s the worst sound in the world?

People can... listen and vote on a collection of awful sounds, use the horrible sound mixer and even download horrible sound effects as ringtones.

But as Professor Trevor Cox from the University’s Acoustics Research Centre explained, there’s a serious side to the research as well. "The idea behind the project is to get people thinking about the complex way we listen to and interpret sounds. For instance, you can find out why we find the sound of retching horrible.


[Link] (thanks, B)