Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Name That Tune

I wasn't a singer as a kid. I sucked at it. Dogs would run away when I sang. That's why I took up the violin in the 5th grade. The dogs would stay around but they howled pitifully. I'm still not sure if they were singing along or if they were in agony. I think humming is a safer musical pursuit. I'm not very good at that either, but at least the ears of those around me don't bleed. Much.

A BBC story on the Internet caught my eye this morning. Residents in Woodland, a village in county Durham, England, have been experiencing a constant buzzing noise that some attribute to abandoned mine shafts in the area. Sounds like something out of the X-Files (apparently this was the subject of an episode of the popular show, but I don't remember it). The phenomenon has actually been documented in other parts of the world for 40 years. There have been similar incidents in Bristol, England in Bondi, NSW, Australia and in Taos, New Mexico. Hey...isn't that near Roswell? I know, it would be easy to play the UFO card at this point as the experts still haven't come up with an explanation. Some believe that it's a form of tinnitus while others think that it's related to machinery or equipment operating in nearby factories. Link to the Wikipedia page here. I'm thinking that it's those 7 bearded, little men swinging their pick axes in the shafts below ground. Or UFO's...

Have you ever heard strange noises? (And I'm not talking about the couple in the next apartment)

We could have a St. John's Hum but I probably wouldn't hear it anyways because it would be drowned out by those voices I hear in my head.

9 comments:

Laurita said...

I hear it when I walk into the big grocery store downtown, but I'm told it's that thing that scares away rats. I'm not convinced....

Cathy Olliffe-Webster said...

Y'know, if these people in Durham would just learn the words...

K.C. Shaw said...

That's pretty freaky. Also annoying. I know the faint whine of the air conditioning system in my office drives me insane, and no one else seems to notice it. Remind me never to move to Taos--not that I was planning to. :)

SueH said...

I've recently been hearing a low humming sound at various times of the day and night, often resulting in me prowling the house in the dead of night, trying to pin-point the source.

The OH doesn't notice it unless I make him concentrate and even then he's not that bothered about it, but when you're lying awake running through all the possibilities it's no fun!

Well, I think I've worked it out - next-door's satellite dish! I was out in the garden, having my afternoon doze in a deckchair (listen, one has to grab 'Summer' whenever it appears here in the UK!)and I was aware of the low hum coming and going. Closing my eyes to try and pinpoint the direction it seemed to be coming from up on the roof, in the area where the satellite dish is situated. The oscillation of the sound appears to be related to wind, as it only seems to happen when there's a gentle breeze from a certain direction.

I'm reasonably happy with this explanation - although, the dish has been there for some time so why is it only now that it appears to be the source of the irritating hum?

Fox Lee said...

Have they looked in the mines?

David Barber said...

I regularly hear a constant whining sound. I thought it was tinitus and went to the doctors. He gave me some ear drops and said the noise would go away within a week. That was two years ago and the wife and kids are still here!!

Gigi said...

Now that was an interesting article. If it were a very faint hum I could possibly live with it - but with my luck it would be at just the right decibel to drive me mad. At least it eventually moves on - maybe it is the aliens and they are listening in and when they get bored with the local gossip they move on.

Alan W. Davidson said...

Laurita- They should use that gizmo to drive away the rats from certain political venues...

Cathy- Perhaps they have poor singing voices and singing is for the best of everyone.

KC- Perhaps the annoying AC whine keeps the voices in your head at bay...

Sue- The satellite dish solution is what the polititians and the military want you to believe...

Nat- Good question (actually I kinda thought you were going to say something witty about shafts),

David- Funny stuff. You're only saying that because your wife doesn't read my blog.

Gigi- Interesting idea, the thought of travelling aliens looking for good banter.

Cate- I was hoping that you were hearing some of the humming in the NW of the country.

Kat said...

Lol. Well, Mr. Vanwinkle...voices are good...at least that's what they tell me. :D