AUDIO illusion that sounds like SIX different phrases drives listeners wild… so, what do YOU hear?
Do you hear that? Whatever it is, the answer is probably not the same as the person next to you.
In an audio clip shared by a New Zealand radio show, people wonder what they heard (or rather didn’t hear), with a variety of possible phrases heard.
The auditory illusion was again shared by New Zealand radio show The Rock FM Drive with Jay and Dunc, who played the sound on their show to test what each other could hear.
The original audio of the Derby County Football Club in Britain chants, “That’s embarrassing,” to the tune of La Donna e Mobile by Rigoletto.
New Zealand Rock FM presenters Jay and Dunc (pictured) were amazed by the audio illusion, which shows Britain’s Derby County Football Club chanting: ‘That’s embarrassing’
Jay (pictured) was in disbelief at how the power of suggestion could have such a profound impact on what you hear, with at least six different sentences being heard
Apparently not everyone is hearing the same thing, though, with the resurfaced clip having more than 8 million views views on TikTok – redistribute the audience.
When asked what they hear, Rock FM presenters Jay and Dunc initially replied ‘that’s embarrassing’, but were surprised to hear other phrases made just as much sense.
“Are you sure you don’t hear ‘rotating pirate ships?'” announcer Lee Weir asked the pair, who burst out laughing.
‘Or do you hear “that’s not my receipt”?’ he continued.
“This is the power of suggestion,” Jay exclaimed, laughing.
Lee continued to play the clip, offering possible suggestions as to what the sound might be.
“You might hear ‘Bart Simpson bounce,’” the host continued
“The last one, ‘lobsters on the move,’” Lee said, while the other hosts responded incredulously with “definitely not.”
The show’s host, Lee Weir, took them through the phrases people often hear
Listeners were divided over the sound and could not agree on a particular phrase. However, experts say that people hear different things as the brain tries to find the “best fit.”
Listeners agreed with what they could hear in the audio.
“I hear doctors and viruses!” someone said.
“That’s not piracy,” said another.
‘God says there is mercy’
“Yo, this is mind-boggling,” one perplexed listener replied.
Some listeners were convinced they were hearing the right chant.
“That’s embarrassing every time…” one listener commented.
‘That’s embarrassing. Nothing else,” another agreed.
“That’s embarrassing,” one user added. “I was one of the fans screaming.”
The audio illusion was first shared on social media in 2021, where it went viral when TikTok user who posts under the username @key_has_styles shared the clip, which has been viewed more than 22.5 million times.
The clip was shared in 2021 by a TiKTok user who collected thousands of comments with people arguing about what they heard
This new sound illusion is similar to the viral Yanny vs Laurel audio clip that took the internet by storm in 2018.
The audio clip featuring the voice of a computer-controlled man was originally posted on Reddit by high school student Roland Camry. Most people claimed they could hear one of the two words clearly, and couldn’t imagine how someone could hear the other.
It has been described as an auditory illusion, similar to the debate over The Dress in February 2015.
Academics stepped in at the time and offered explanations for the auditory illusion.
Valerie Hazan, professor of speech sciences at University College London, said: ‘The sound online seems to be deliberately ambiguous and people are primed to hear ‘yanny’ or ‘laurel’.
“The problem is that this speech doesn’t quite fit the auditory patterns you expect for these two words, so your brain tries to find a ‘best match.’ she continued.
“If your brain locks into one of the high-frequency auditory patterns, around 3,000 hertz, that will push you more toward Yanny.
“If you notice another auditory pattern in the sound that is at a lower frequency of 1,000 hertz, that is more consistent with laurel.”