The Quietest Place on Earth Will Drive You Insane in 45 Minutes

I once had a chance to set foot inside anechoic chamber designed for testing the sonic characteristics of speaker design. It was so quiet–and I’m not making this up–that I could hear the sound of blood being pumped through my body. I shit thee not. It was terribly surreal.

Aneochoic chambers are important for all sorts of scientific and market research. The problem is that almost no one can stand being inside the chamber for too long. The problem is hallucinations. The quiet is so disorienting that your brain can’t cope.

There’s a very good anechoic chamber in Ottawa, but the very best in the world–according to the Guinness people, anyway–is in Minneapolis which reduces reflected sound by at least 99.99%. That’s beyond dead quiet.

Read more here from the Daily Mail. That’s where the picture is from, too.

About the Author

Alan Cross is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 30+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.