In a paper published by Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar of Newcastle University on October 10, 2012, there is a list of the ten most unpleasant sounds, as chosen by the 13 volunteers in the study. Of the 74 sounds they were subjected to, these were the most unpleasant:
Knife on a bottle
Fork on a glass
Chalk on a blackboard
Ruler on a bottle
Nails on a blackboard
Female scream
Anglegrinder
Brakes on a cycle squealing
Baby crying
Electric drill
These four were deemed the least unpleasant:
Applause
Baby laughing
Thunder
Water flowing
If you go to the Newcastle press release, you will find recordings of the top five unpleasant sounds. Personally, I’d have put the fingernails on a blackboard at number one.
rjb
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