MYSTERIOUS NOISE IN BRITISH TOWN BLAMED ON MATING FISH

 

A mysterious hum has been keeping people in Hampshire awake all night, and scientists have said there could be something fishy about it.

 

The noise “pulsates” through homes, forcing some residents of Hythe near Southampton to evacuate the area just to get a good night’s sleep.

 

People have complained to their local council, and the blame has been put on everything from heavy industry to the large cargo ships coming in at Southampton Docks – some residents have even gone to the doctor thinking they had tinnitus.

 

Scientists now think that the noise is being caused by fish, competing to out-hum one another as part of an unusual mating ritual.

Male Midshipman fish let out a deep, resonating drone which attracts females and acts as a challenge to other males.

 

They are nocturnal creatures, but once they get going can keep up the distracting hum all night.

Unfortunately for the residents of Hythe, the noise created by the Midshipman is of such a low frequency and long wavelength that it can carry through the ground, walls, and into homes.

 

This is not the first time fish have been blamed for keeping people up at night – a number of US cities suffer their droning on a regular basis. 

But it was a problem which stumped various authorities in Southampton, including the National Oceanography Centre based there.

Read more - http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/mysterious-hum-keeping-people-up-all-night-could-be-mating-fish-8900747.html



RELATED


WILD AND LOUD GUINEA PIG ORGIES?

 

German court orders university to silence raucous guinea pigs which kept neighbours up all night with 'wild orgies'

 

Guinea pigs live together in large outdoor cage at Muenster University

Homeowners said they cannot sleep because of their wild-sex sessions

Thirteen male and female specimens live together in a large outdoor cage at Muenster University in north-west Germany

However, following complaints from nearby homeowners who said they cannot sleep because of the noise of their wild-sex sessions, they were this week the subject of a hearing in the city's Administrative Court.

Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2395752/German-court-orders-university-silence-raucous-guinea-pigs-kept-neighbours-night-wild-orgies.html