The Mosquito Sound
I haven’t blogged in a while, but I thought this definitely warranted an entry:
Mosquito is a high-pitched sound “audible only to teenagers” sold by Britain’s Compound Security. It is sold to shopkeepers to use as a teenager repellent — the idea is to play it loudly in and around shops and “chase away those annoying teenagers!!!”
The kids have reportedly converted the high-pitched noise and turned it into a ringtone, which, being inaudible to grownups, can then be used to receive texts and calls in class without alerting teachers.
That’s pretty clever of the kids. But what intrigues me more: is this sound actually legit? A bit of research unearthed this mysterious sound. It sounded a little fishy to me so of course, I, being the thorough journalist that I am, began testing it on people. I played it for friends and coworkers. The results were surprising. It seems that the sound is legit. But the claim that it only works on teenagers is a little muddy.
Two of my coworkers (aged 23 and 25) plus myself could hear the sound. The rest of my coworkers (one aged 26 and the rest 30+) were unable to hear it. Three of my friends (aged 23) were unable to hear it. I haven’t actually tried it on any teenagers yet, but that’s what this entry is for. Let me know if you can hear it!
Note: If all you can hear are waves, cars, laughs, etc. then you’re an old fogey. Sorry! If you’re “young” enough to hear it, then you’ll recognize the sound as soon as you hear it.
Bottom line: I’m still young at heart (and apparently at ears as well).