As people age, hearing gets worse, especially the top end of the hearing range. So there’s a new high-pitched ringtone that people with young ears can hear. Old farts can’t hear a dang thing.
So which are you? Old fart, or young fart? I’m pleased to report that I can still hear it, although I did have to crank the speakers pretty loud. But, as Dan Jurafsky points out, that’s not surprising — the ability to hear high tones is largely a function of volume.
The tone is ready for the downloading on the NPR site. Give it a try and post your (approximate) age and result in comments.
23 June 2006 at 4:14 pm
I had to have my volume at about 4.5 to 5 to hear it. Whats that make me, about 39?
24 June 2006 at 12:33 am
Funny, that’s the same result I got.
The thing I love about this is that originally adults used this as a weapon against young people to clear them away from public places. Now they’ve turned the tables — they’re using it to secretly get messages in class. Your technology can be used against you. Take that, you geezers!
25 June 2006 at 5:23 pm
49.99 – I heard a faint hissing when I held the speaker up to my ear. WMP’s visual effects were fairly big though! People think teenagers are stupid. Always a big mistake. I have consistently found them to delightfully creative and iconoclastic. Sadly I eventually had to grow up.