• Stumble Upon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
 

The Buzz Behind Auckland's Hum

Auckland
Enlarge Cosmo Condina/Getty Images

Sound experts can't explain the strange low-frequency hum heard by some residents in Auckland, New Zealand.

Auckland
Cosmo Condina/Getty Images

Sound experts can't explain the strange low-frequency hum heard by some residents in Auckland, New Zealand.

text sizeAAA
November 22, 2006

Some residents of Auckland, New Zealand, have been complaining about a mysterious and uninterrupted hum haunting the country's largest city.

The low-frequency noise is audible only to a small number of people. But for some, it is so bothersome that they have put their homes up for sale or have started taking anti-anxiety medication.

Tom Moir, professor at Massey University's Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences in Auckland, recently succeeded in recording what's now being called the "Auckland hum."

Although he hasn't been able to identify the sound, which he can't hear, Moir doesn't believe theories that attribute low-frequency hums to alternating current flowing through electricity grids.

 
  • Stumble Upon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
 

Podcast and RSS Feeds

PodcastRSS

  • Environment
     
  • All Things Considered
     
 
 

Comments

Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.