I’ve got so many devices in my home I shouldn’t be surprised I was almost “frightened” by this mystical noise I just heard. Upon inspection I think it was some alert coming from my iPhone but boy did it sound spooky.

Technology’s really great but it’s got these unexpected consequences sometimes.

I find that if you simply repeatedly hit technology with a large hammer every time it makes a noise, it tends to become a bit less spooky.

Accipiter - 29 May 2011 04:04 AM

I find that if you simply repeatedly hit technology with a large hammer every time it makes a noise, it tends to become a bit less spooky.

Yes but then my iPhone would suddenly look a lot less trendy.

Could have been worse. You might have had a run in with one of these:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/8c52/

Not that I would be, in any way, familiar with such a device….

It’s happened again. I was feeling angry about my neighbour playing music albeit very softly at 2am in the morning. But curiously when I put my ear to the wall the “music” was coming from the wrong direction.

So I turned off my electric heater and the “music” stopped.

Electrical stuff does have a tinny-whiney sound if all else is quiet OR it can be a kind of high-pitched drone or buzz.  This is one of the biggest reasons I wear ear plugs at night.  However, if you are depending upon an alarm clock to wake you for work then you’ll have to get the ones that vibrate instead (they have a small device that fits under your pillow) or will turn the overhead lights on to wake you.  The kind of ear plugs I use block nearly all sound completely.

hulitoons - 04 June 2011 08:26 PM

Electrical stuff does have a tinny-whiney sound if all else is quiet OR it can be a kind of high-pitched drone or buzz.  This is one of the biggest reasons I wear ear plugs at night.  However, if you are depending upon an alarm clock to wake you for work then you’ll have to get the ones that vibrate instead (they have a small device that fits under your pillow) or will turn the overhead lights on to wake you.  The kind of ear plugs I use block nearly all sound completely.

Yes. This electric heater, which I only bought last night, has a spinning fan and it was making a soft oscillating humming noise that I hadn’t heard before. 

I bought 2 of them for about $20 each as my old one stopped working.

The heater may also have been emitting ultra-sonic (below the human ear’s ability to hear) noise.  This type of sound has been linked in the past to feelings of nervousness, fear, unease, and paranoia.  And, just for kicks and giggles, it has also been tied to the experience of seeing flitting images in ones peripheral vision and the sense of beeing ‘watched’.

Robin Bobcat - 29 May 2011 01:44 PM

Could have been worse. You might have had a run in with one of these:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/8c52/

Not that I would be, in any way, familiar with such a device….

That’s rather similar to some of the harassment devices that law enforcement/counterterrorist/espionage groups use to torment evildoers.  What’s also fun is to put a small long-lasting battery-powered radio inside of somebody’s larger outlet-powered radio, and then watch them go slowly mad trying to figure out why their radio is still playing music after being turned off and unplugged.

Peter - 04 June 2011 04:19 PM

It’s happened again. I was feeling angry about my neighbour playing music albeit very softly at 2am in the morning. But curiously when I put my ear to the wall the “music” was coming from the wrong direction.

So I turned off my electric heater and the “music” stopped.

I sometimes have a hard time telling whether or not the strange noise I’m hearing from outside or wherever is a piece of machinery working or somebody listening to their radio.  Which is kind of a sad testament to the quality of modern music. . .

I’m not sure what it would be like without all the background noise around my house.  Between the aquarium burbling, the compressor on the fridge doing it’s thing and my ceiling fan the combined sound is actually rather comforting.  Sure helps me fall asleep quick at night.