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(2788)

Deception and Dependency: Inside the Latest Epstein Files

Deception and Dependency: Inside the Latest Epstein Files

The latest release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein has revealed deep and intense relationships with the global elite, long after he became a convicted sex offender.Debra Kamin, Nicholas Confes...

10 Feb 40min

Why Trump Voters Are Torn Over Minneapolis

Why Trump Voters Are Torn Over Minneapolis

The question of what to do about undocumented immigrants has long bonded President Trump and his supporters — and an overwhelming majority of them backed his all-out crackdown over the past year.But t...

9 Feb 32min

At the Super Bowl, It’s Nice Guy vs. Underdog

At the Super Bowl, It’s Nice Guy vs. Underdog

For football fans nationwide, this year’s Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks is inherently exciting. For non-football fans like the Daily host Michael Barbaro — not s...

8 Feb 34min

'The Interview': Michael Pollan Says Humanity Is About to Undergo a Revolutionary Change

'The Interview': Michael Pollan Says Humanity Is About to Undergo a Revolutionary Change

The best-selling author grapples with big questions about A.I., consciousness and the distractions polluting our minds.Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.comWatch our show on YouTube: youtube....

7 Feb 38min

When Anesthesia Fails and the Patient Is Cut Open

When Anesthesia Fails and the Patient Is Cut Open

Women’s pain is too often dismissed in medicine. An alarming number of women report feeling major surgery and dealing with doctors and nurses who make light of their complaints.Susan Burton, reporter ...

6 Feb 31min

Bezos Guts The Washington Post

Bezos Guts The Washington Post

When Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post more than a decade ago, journalists inside and outside the newsroom were cautiously optimistic. But those hopes were dashed on Wednesday, when the paper carr...

5 Feb 28min

How to Bet on (Literally) Anything

How to Bet on (Literally) Anything

The explosion of prediction markets in the United States, where people bet on everything from Taylor Swift’s wedding date to election outcomes, has radically expanded the universe of gambling.David Ya...

4 Feb 34min

The F.B.I.’s Extraordinary Seizure of Voting Records

The F.B.I.’s Extraordinary Seizure of Voting Records

Last week, F.B.I. agents searched an election center in Fulton County, Ga., seizing truckloads of ballots from 2020. The move escalated the investigation into President Trump’s claims of voter fraud i...

3 Feb 20min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

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