The brown note, according to an urban legend, is an infrasound frequency that causes humans to lose control of their bowels due to resonance. There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that a "brown note" exists. Brown noise spectrum In science, Brownian noise ( ), also known as Brown noise or red noise, is the kind of signal noise produced by Brownian motion. ... The brown sound is a legendary electric guitar distortion tone that musicians try to emulate using various effects pedals, tube amplifiers and modeling amplifiers. ... Brown Note Records is an independent record label based in Hong Kong. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... Infrasound is sound with a frequency too low to be detected by the human ear (less than approximately 20 hertz). ... This article is about modern humans. ... The intestine is the portion of the alimentary canal extending from the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine. ... This article is about resonance in physics. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Terminology

The name is actually metonymy for a common color of human feces. Effective frequencies are reportedly between 5 and 9 Hz, below the audible range for humans (generally, adults cannot hear sounds below about 20 Hz), but supposedly in the range of resonance of human body parts. 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. In rhetoric, metonymy is the substitution of one word for another word with which it is associated. ... This article is about the SI unit of frequency. ... This article is about resonance in physics. ...

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.^[1] 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. MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors and urban legends in popular culture. ... Meyer Sound Laboratories is an American company based in Berkeley, California that manufactures Loudspeakers and audio analysis tools. ... a 12 subwoofer driver A subwoofer refers to either a driver, or a complete loudspeaker dedicated to the reproduction of bass audio frequencies, typically from 150 Hz down to 20 Hz. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles, however saxophones have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since the 90s. ... db(spl) = decibel sound PRESSURE level. ... Human respiratory system The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ...

Another show, Brainiac: Science Abuse, claimed to have performed an experiment using 22.275 Hz at −30 dB (according to the show's producers 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 (not to mention the cassette-tape boombox used to generate the note for the test subject). 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. The Brainiac: Science Abuse experiment can not be considered reliable as the show itself is often criticized for its scientific inaccuracies, and producing pseudo-scientific experiments solely for entertainment purposes. Brainiac: Science Abuse is a television programme showing in the UK on Sky One (and repeated on Sky Mix). ... Aichi Prefecture Toyota Crown police car Japans police are an apolitical body under the general supervision of an independent agency, the National Police Agency, and free of direct central government executive control. ... The Military of France has a very long history, greatly influential in World history, of serving its country. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In 2003, a team of researchers held a mass experiment where they exposed around 700 people to music laced with 17.5 Hz sine waves, produced by an extra-long stroke subwoofer mounted in the end of a sewer pipe. The experiment took place in the Purcell Room, London. The team was 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 was interested in these extreme bass notes as they have been implicated as a possible explanation for ostensible hauntings.

Jürgen Altmann of the University of Dortmund, an expert on sonic weapons, says that there is no reliable evidence for nausea and vomiting caused by infrasound.^[2] Dortmund University (German: Universität Dortmund) is a university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 20,000 students, and over 3,000 staff. ... Sonic and ultrasonic weapons (USW) are weapons of various types that use sound to injure, incapacitate, or kill an opponent. ...

In fiction

The concept was featured in an episode of South Park (3x17: "World Wide Recorder Concert") as a sound that caused the entire population of Earth to empty their bowels uncontrollably. In the show, the "brown noise" was described as "92 cents below the lowest octave of E-Flat", although the pitch sounded was actually F# (46.25 Hz). This article is about the TV series. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... The cent is a logarithmic unit of measure used for musical intervals. ...

See also

• Infrasound

Infrasound is sound with a frequency too low to be detected by the human ear. ...

References

1. ^ Brown Note. Meyer Sound (2000). Retrieved on 2006-08-30.
2. ^ The Pentagon considers ear-blasting anti-hijack gun — New Scientist