Does the brown note exist?

Question

ya know, a specific musical note or combination of notes that cause a person to involuntarily crap their pants! Discuss.

Answer 1

Mythbusters and Brainiac both have disproved the efficacy of the "brown note".

Answer 2

Does The Brown Note Exist

Answer 3

The brown note, according to an urban legend, is an infrasonic frequency that causes humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance. Effective frequencies are reportedly between 5 and 9 Hz, below the audible range for humans (humans cannot hear below around 20 Hz). However, as the supposed effects are difficult to explain through known medical science and have yet to be verifiably reproduced in a controlled environment, most medical professionals are of the opinion that the brown note, at least as described in the legend, does not exist.

Answer 4

No. A frequency, when great enough, can cause discomfort or even stimulate the digestive tract. But it is doubtful that the "brown note" actually exists.

Interestingly enough, however, the closest thing I've ever had come to a "brown note" is the feeling I got in my gut when I "squeeked" a foam float tube under water at a swimming pool. No brown note, though.

Cheers,
Jon

Answer 5

Brown note
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The brown note, according to an urban legend, is an infrasonic frequency that causes humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance. Effective frequencies are reportedly between 5 and 9 Hz, below the audible range for humans (humans cannot hear below around 20 Hz). However, as the supposed effects are difficult to explain through known medical science and have yet to be verifiably reproduced in a controlled environment, most medical professionals are of the opinion that the brown note, at least as described in the legend, does not exist.

The brown note is unrelated to brown noise.

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Testing
The note was tested on the television show MythBusters using Meyer Sound subwoofers on par in quantity and quality with those used at major rock concerts. The experimenters on the show tried a series of frequencies between 5 and 10 Hz at 120–160 dBSPL, but they were unsuccessful in producing the rumored effects. They all reported some physical anxiety and shortness of breath, even a small amount of nausea, but this was dismissed by the participants, noting that sound at that frequency and intensity moves air rapidly in and out of one's lungs.

Other researchers have noted flaws in the methodology of the experiment. Rather than test the entire spectrum below 20 Hz, the MythBusters tested only three specific frequencies: 5, 7, and 9 Hz. In addition, the strategy of surrounding the subject with speakers without accounting for phase effects could have resulted in a loss of effective power being transmitted.

Another show, Brainiac: Science Abuse performed a similar experiment using 22.275 Hz at -30 dB (used by Japan's Police and tested by the French Military). During the program, they broadcast the note over the air (and into the living rooms of viewers) in an attempt to cause bowel movements among those who had chosen to stay in the room despite repeated warnings and opportunities to leave. It should be noted, however, that no television speakers and very few subwoofers are able to accurately generate sound at this frequency at a significant volume. They also alleged to have confirmed the myth with a subject, but this subject was out of camera shot for all of the piece except at the very beginning. Additionally, the sound source used was an ordinary CD boombox, which would have been incapable of producing the required tone. In 2003, a team of researchers held a mass experiment where they exposed around 700 people to music laced with 17.5Hz sine waves, produced by an extra-long stroke subwoofer mounted - very appropriately - in the end of a sewer pipe. The experiment took place in the Purcell Room, London. The team were warned against the experiment by physicists (and a person in the local hi-fi store) who were concerned the audience would have to evacuate their bowels in the concert - but in this double-blind test of the effects of airborne infrasound, the team reported none of the legendary effects. There were many reports of anxiety in the audience - and of feelings of pressure on the chest. The team were interested in these extreme bass notes as they have been implicated as a possible explanation for ostensible hauntings. See Spacedog UK

Answer 6

Not unless you count all the Red Sox fans soiling themselves in 2003, courtesy of an Aaron Boone home run.

Answer 7

Yes

Answer 8

Yeah, Sam Harris used to hit it with perfection each time he sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

Answer 9

I don't know. I've heard some elementary school concert bands that were so bad I almost crapped myself.

Answer 10

Nope, mythbusters disproved it's existance.