The Sunday Read: ‘Could I Survive the “Quietest Place on Earth”?’
The Daily22 Jan 2023

The Sunday Read: ‘Could I Survive the “Quietest Place on Earth”?’

In a room in a modest concrete building in a leafy Minneapolis neighborhood is silence exceeding the bounds of human perception. Technically an “anechoic chamber,” the room is the quietest place on the planet — according to some.

What happens to people inside the windowless steel room is the subject of wild and terrible speculation. Public fascination with it exploded 10 years ago, with an article on The Daily Mail’s website. The article left readers to extrapolate their own conclusions about the room from the short, haunting observations of its proprietor, Steven J. Orfield, of Orfield Laboratories.

“You’ll hear your heart beating,” Orfield was quoted as saying. And, “In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound.”

Much of the lore about the chamber’s propensity for mind-annihilation centers on the concept of blood sounds. Hearing the movement of blood through the body is supposedly something like an absolute taboo, akin to witnessing the fabrication of Chicken McNuggets — an ordeal after which placid existence is irreparably shattered.

Despite this, Caity Weaver, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, wanted to give the chamber a go.

To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(2792)

How Trump Fared in a Major New Poll

How Trump Fared in a Major New Poll

In a new poll, The New York Times asked voters what they thought of the first eight months of President Trump’s second term.Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst at The Times, explains what the surve...

30 Sep 202529min

Big Tech Told Kids to Code. The Jobs Didn’t Follow.

Big Tech Told Kids to Code. The Jobs Didn’t Follow.

For the past decade, a simple message has been delivered to a generation of American students: If you learn to code and complete a computer science degree, you’ll get a job with a six-figure salary.No...

29 Sep 202531min

Sunday Special: The Fashion Episode

Sunday Special: The Fashion Episode

This month kicked off the big four fashion weeks: New York, London, Milan and Paris. Each year, designers, brands, influencers and celebrities flock to these events to see and be seen.On today’s episo...

28 Sep 202556min

'The Interview': Sean Penn Let Himself Get Away With Things for 15 Years. Not Anymore.

'The Interview': Sean Penn Let Himself Get Away With Things for 15 Years. Not Anymore.

The actor and instigator is ready for his renaissance. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.n...

27 Sep 202551min

The Indictment of James Comey

The Indictment of James Comey

A grand jury indicted James Comey, the former F.B.I. director, on Thursday night. It is a case that President Trump has personally demanded that federal prosecutors pursue despite their own doubts abo...

26 Sep 202530min

The U.S. Keeps Killing Venezuelans on Boats. Is That Legal?

The U.S. Keeps Killing Venezuelans on Boats. Is That Legal?

The U.S. military has blown up three boats in the Caribbean Sea in the past three weeks, killing 17 people aboard.Each time, President Trump has claimed that the boats were carrying drugs to the Unite...

25 Sep 202535min

The U.A.E. Got A.I. Chips. Trump’s Inner Circle Got Crypto Riches.

The U.A.E. Got A.I. Chips. Trump’s Inner Circle Got Crypto Riches.

President Trump and his inner circle are making millions of dollars from agreements that intersect with America’s national security interests, a New York Times investigation found.Eric Lipton, who wro...

24 Sep 202525min

Trump, Tylenol and Autism

Trump, Tylenol and Autism

During a televised news conference on Monday night, President Trump repeatedly gave out unproven medical advice that linked autism to Tylenol and childhood vaccines.Azeen Ghorayshi, a science reporter...

23 Sep 202527min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
svenska-fall
rss-krimstad
p3-krim
fordomspodden
flashback-forever
motiv
blenda-2
rss-sanning-konsekvens
aftonbladet-daily
rss-krimreportrarna
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-vad-fan-hande
olyckan-inifran
rss-frandfors-horna
spar
rss-flodet
politiken
dagens-eko
krimmagasinet