“Sailor’s Mind-Bending Experience in the World’s Most Silent Room Leaves Him Questioning Reality!”
Ever thought about how much peace and quiet you really need? You might think a little serenity is just what the doctor ordered, but how does one actually measure too much silence? This intriguing question takes us on a journey with a sailor, who recently confronted one of the most psychologically taxing experiences imaginable—sitting in the world’s quietest room. Picture this: a space so devoid of sound that you can actually hear your own bodily functions—like, can you imagine hearing your blood flow? Spooky, right? Officially recognized by Guinness World Records, Orfield Laboratories’ anechoic chamber in Minneapolis, Minnesota, holds the title of the absolute quietest place on the planet. What our brave sailor—US Navy Petty Officer Nick Hair—had anticipated as a moment of tranquil solitude soon became an overwhelming experience that tested the very limits of human perception. Join me as we delve into this fascinating story of seeking silence, battling eerie self-awareness, and discovering whether the absence of noise can truly bring peace. LEARN MORE
You may think that some peace and quiet is all you need, but how much is too much?
This sailor was put through one of the most mentally challenging ordeals out there, which will leave you hearing the blood pump through your body.
It sounds chilling, but for the first time ever, you’re able to hear your lungs filling with air and bodily fluids making their way around.
Recognised by Guinness World Records as the single most quiet place in the world, the silent room at Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is known as the room with no echoes.
People that have attempted to sit in the room for long periods of time have struggled (ScienceDuude)
Scientifically identified as the ‘anechoic chamber’, NBC News reporter Gary Sanders went over with US Navy Petty Officer Nick Hair, as the sailor aimed to return to normal life.
Having spent nine months on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier at sea, with thousands of sailors onboard and aircrafts taking off and touching down constantly, Hair missed the tranquillity of everyday life, such as hikes in the woods near his home in upstate New York.
Sleeping in a room with 100 other people for nine months ought to drive you up the wall though, so he requested to sit in complete silence in the anechoic chamber himself in a return to normality.
Equipped with Styrofoam wedges three feet large, as well as concrete and steel insulation, the room is 99.99 percent sound absorbent.
It’s all he wanted, after he said that the past nine months were ‘like living under a roller coaster’.
So in the world’s quietest room, where you can ‘hear a pin drop’, Hair chose to sit in for over an hour and recalibrate.
Reporter Sanders revealed that he was in there for just five minutes, explaining: “There’s this intense pressure, sort of like you’re in a car driving up a mountain and keep having to swallow and yawn to equalise the pressure, and I’m pretty sure what I hear is the blood flowing in my neck.”
Steve Orfield, the owner and founder of Orfield Laboratories, said: “The ear is both a loud speaker and a microphone and when it’s deprived of sound, it produces its own it creates its own oral hallucinations.”
It turns out that the chamber’s existence is to help test out the sound level of products, such as vacuum cleaners or hospital equipment – people sitting around in it is not its primary use.
After some time in there, Hair admitted: “It is becoming a little disorienting, it’s interesting.”
Hair had no problem sitting in the room for over an hour (YouTube/TODAY)
But despite this initial worry, the sailor lasted over an hour, with Sanders coming in to check on his wellbeing after the session, ensuring he could stand up, saying that he felt ‘wobbly’.
The reporter asked if he could still ‘hear the planes landing, to which Hair replied: “Not right now, I can’t do it right now, it’s really interesting,” confirming that it was essentially ‘erased’.
And just like that, the Naval Officer got his long-awaited peace and quiet.
