This is episode number 400 of our show! Thanks for helping us get this far.
Now we’re going to scream at you.
Ok, not really, but today is apparently International Moment of Frustration Scream Day, so we should at least talk a little about screaming.
What is it that allows one voice to shout down the others?
Good lungs? Good vocal technique? Endless amounts of fury at the world and all that’s in it?
Whatever it is, humans can get very loud.
Ask classroom assistant Jill Drake, who set a world record in 2000 for the loudest shout at an anything-but-quiet 129 decibels.
That’s louder than the siren on a fire truck, louder than most rock concerts, and almost as loud as a jet engine at takeoff.
Another educator, Annalisa Flanagan, held the record after a 121.7 decibel shout in 1994.
The schoolteacher in Belfast shouted the word “QUIET,” though she said at the time it wasn’t because she had practiced by yelling at her students.
She said she was actually just trying to out-compete her sister, who had put up a very painful and respectable 119 decibel shout.
I would not want to get in the middle of an argument between those two.
Flanagan said, at least in her case, there wasn’t any special technique or practice involved in setting the loudest shout.
As she put it, “I just open my mouth and let rip.”
Or, if you’re looking for something calm, like setting up on a comfortable couch, with a snack or two, here’s some news for you.
The Singapore University of Technology and Design has figured out a way to make 3D printed solid milk treats, some of which are shaped like couches!
So it could be the most meta snack of all time.
Loudest scream (individual) (Guinness World Records)
Belfast teacher still in class of her own for shouting (BBC)
Got 3D milk? These adorable printed dairy products will satisfy your creamiest cravings (Fast Company)
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