I heard on GMTV this morning that ducks quacks DONT echo. Why is this?

Question

I heard on GMTV this morning that ducks quacks DONT echo. Why is this?

Answer 1

Scientists - most recently (September 2003) in the Department of Acoustics at Salford University - have yet again proved it's a complete myth that a duck's quack does not echo. It is not a wholly groundless myth in one respect only...that is, that the acoustics of a quack are such that they tend to ‘mask' the echo, which can make it sound as if there isn't one. Apparently, the sound of a quack decays very gradually and the echo returns as the initial sound is still fading away, rather than after it has ‘disappeared' completely. Thus, the echo is partially concealed but it is still there!

Answer 2

I heard that on GMTV too - because it was Keith Chegwin I just assumed he was talking rubbish.

I'm thinking that in order to check if a quack echoes, you'd need to take the duck to a cavernous place like a swimming pool or an empty room. That doesn't happen often now does it!? So how does anyone know for sure!?

Answer 3

"A duck's quack doesn't echo" is a much quoted scientific myth. In spring 2003 it was quoted on Home Truths on BBC Radio 4 and Shooting Stars on BBC 2. You can listen to our sound files on Home Truths by going to the BBC4 web site and "listening again". Recently, Salford Acoustics was the source of the story being presented in the national and international media when we proved that a duck's quack does echo as part of the British Association Festival of Science.

Answer 4

Actually mythbusters proved that they do echo but its difficult.

See an echo wave of a sound has a certain shap to it. But a duck's quack looks just like an echo wave. So unless you have very scientific and very expensive equiptment and you knew exactly what you were looking for then you wouldn't even notice the echo.

Answer 5

Actually it does, MYTHBUSTERS did this experiment (so it must be true right.!) they used high tech sound meters and could trace a slight inchy winchy echo from the ducks quack.

Answer 6

Actually, they do echo....it was on Mythbusters a few weeks ago.....its a really old, old wives tale, that they dont echo.

It has something to do with the frequency of the sound, and it not being in-sync with regular sound-waves....that it wont echo like another sound would.

Answer 7

It's not true, it is one of those urban myths, it has been tested (by myth busters as I recall) and they proved that a duck's quack, like every other sound, does echo.

Answer 8

Ducks ducks quacks quacks do do echo echo.

Answer 9

They do echo, it is just an old wives tale, they actually tried it out on some tv show a while ago, brainiac or something. Thats it, mythbusters!

Answer 10

sound waves generates are strong enough to reach a surface they can bounce of to cause an echo