Are You Part of the 75% That Can Hear This GIF?

The is the first GIF ever that made me hear a sound. Can you hear it too?

According to this informal survey, people who view this animated GIF tend to fill in the missing audio part, with their brain providing the repetitive thudding noise of the impact. Dr. Lisa DeBruine of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology – the person who posted this GIF – believes this is due to a phenomena known as acoustic reflex, whereby the muscles in the middle ear involuntarily contract in response to stimuli in order to protect the ear from damage – and that it is this contraction that we ‘hear’. Or at least 75% of us do. Do you?

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Written by Tamás Varga

A sociologist and English major by degree, I've worked in the area of civil society & human rights and have been blogging in the fields of travel, nature & science for over 20 years.

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