Now Hear This!

My online class led me to the Acoustic Ecology Institute, which offers a fascinating array of information about sound and landscapes and the relationships between the two. Since I can only talk about frivolous topics like Joan Van Ark's bad plastic surgery or Ace of Base reuniting for so long, I figured I would share some of the interesting tidbits I found on this site here. I needed something nerdy to balance out all the pop culture gossip. For instance: I learned about the possibility that human-made sounds could be a cause of some unexpected whale beachings. It was discovered in the 1990s that, "animals seemed to have suffered some sort of physical trauma causing hemorraghing of internal organs, and which researchers identified as likely caused by acoustic impacts."

I have a personal theory that any local beachings of orcas in the Puget Sound region are likely the result of distraught animals trying to escape fleets of whale-watching tour boats. I'd love to go on one of those tours, but isn't it a little too much like joining the paparazzi on a stakeout at Britney Spears' mansion? (See, I knew I could get back to celebrity gossip if I tried!)