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By: Colin Jex

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This website explains what Taos Hum is and it provides explanations into what it is they are hearing. One of the red flags I noticed in this article is confirmation bias. The theory states that everyone hears background noises but that in some parts of the world certain people can hear a noise. There is a different reason and explanation for why they hear these noises but it doesn't address that it can be heard in certain parts of the world, it does not explain what possible things could cause this. I believe the article does not explain certain things so that it can lead the readers to believe in the theory.

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Some people in Taos, New Mexico, say they hear an unusual droning sound, or buzzing, or as it has come to be called, the "Taos Hum." Pinpointing its source has not been easy.

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This article on geek.com says that it has all of the answers to the world's Hum's. This article also has the red flag confirmation bias as well as red herring and mystical energy. Although the article has a lot of information it does not give any scientific proof and leaves the reader to interrupt what they say. I think the article has mystical energy in it because it says that it is the worlds natural sound and because of the position the combination of noises it can be thought that it is possible for only certain people to hear the noises. I believe that the article tries to distract the readers of more scientific proof.

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In 1998, scientists discovered that the planet is constantly making a sound. This was vindicating news for a very small minority of people throughout the world who were obsessed with a low hum that seemingly only they could hear.

The phenomena of Earth's constant but quiet vibration is called simply "The Hum" for sufferers and conspiracy theorists. Reports of The Hum pop up from the 1970s all over the world, and occasionally enough people report it to cause a bit of a media stir. In the early 1990s, state-side it was the "Taos Hum" in New Mexico that became prominent followed later by the Kokomo, Indiana Hum. In 1994 it was the "Bristol Hum" in southwest England.

People who complain about hearing the hum describe it as truck motors running in the distance and usually hear the noise at night or in isolated locations. Some people even claim that the sound gives them nausea, headaches, and nosebleeds on top of being very, very unsettling. Before its existence could be proved most doctors and scientists wrote off people complaining of a constant low rumbling as victims of delusion or tinnitus (ringing of the ears).

It wasn't until 1998 that seismologists discovered the Earth is giving off very slight vibrations all the time around the range of 10 millihertz. That's frequency so low that it's supposed to be out of the range of human hearing. That hasn't stopped online communities of Hum sufferers from amassing at sites like TheHum.info where you can share your accounts of The Hum in The Hum Sufferers Database and put yourself on a world map.

After 1998, with the seismic cause isolated and the existence of an Earth Hum verified, the search for the cause of the phenomena began.

It wasn't until 2008 that Black Forest Observatory in Germany took-with supporting data from seismologists in Japan and China-to mapping the patterns of vibrations and discovered the Earths oscillations move in rings and loops over the Earth's surface. That pattern indicates a force that's moving across the planet's surface, not a force that's pushing down on the planets surface.

By 2009, there were two main theories involving the planet's oceans and The Hum. The dominant theory was that deep waves moving across the entire ocean would brush up against the natural geography of the sea floor and vibrate the planet. A seismic observatory called the USArray EarthScope furthered another theory by measuring the intensity of the hum with wave height: the collision of waves against each other and battering up against the coast of the Western United States and Europe.

The problem with both theories is that seismological data collected on The Hum produced outliers for each model. Sometimes it would be stronger than what a deep wave could produce or lighter than what would be made by mass wave collision.

Like the best parts of science, it turns out the answer was pretty simple: it's both.

A paper called " How ocean waves rock the Earth: Two mechanisms explain microseisms with periods 3 to 300 s" published in February's edition of Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. In it, French scientists from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique hypothesize that it's actually both wave based phenomena working together, but it's definitely the waves.

Knowing the cause of The Hum hasn't yet helped people who are suffering the physical side effects of being super-people (seriously, we're not supposed to be able to hear this thing), but at least one thing is now very clear: they were not crazy.

The Earth hums because the oceans.

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Mystery of why the Earth hums solved - Geek.com

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In 1998, scientists discovered that the planet is constantly making a sound. This was vindicating news for a very small minority of people throughout the world who were obsessed with a low hum that seemingly only they could hear. The phenomena of Earth's constant but quiet vibration is called simply "The Hum" for sufferers and conspiracy theorists.

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In this article the introduce Taos Hum and provide a few examples of what the noise resembles. I think that in this article the red flag that is most apparent is red herring. The article stats that only 2 percent of residents in the town are able to hear the noise and that the sounds are impeding sleep. The article does state that noise detecting equipment was placed around the town and nothing was detected. So although it does give scientific proof it tried to distract the readers by giving what the noises could be rather than further stating that the noises can not be proven.

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The Taos Hum

Taos is a small town in north-central New Mexico. To a passerby, it might not seem all that different from any other quiet American town. Listen carefully though, and you may find that Taos isn't so quiet after all. Since the early 1990s, some residents and visitors of Taos have reported hearing a constant low-frequency buzzing or rumbling noise. We present to you the Taos Hum.

The Taos Hum has been described as a faint droning sound, similar to a diesel engine idling in the distance. It is a miserable noise for those that can hear it. It never stops, interferes with sleep, and is more noticeable at night and indoors.

The Hum became so bothersome to Taos residents that in 1993, locals voiced their concern about it to Congress. A public study was conducted to examine what could be going on. Residents were interviewed and various sound detection instruments were placed around the town.

The study found that only about 2 percent of Taos residents reported hearing the Hum. Many affected residents could replicate the sounds they heard, but no such signals were ever detected. The only unusual activity observed was elevated electromagnetic field levels, but this was determined to be the result of local power lines. No source of the Hum was ever identified.

Hums Around The World

Taos is not necessarily special when it comes to strange, mysterious humming sounds. There have actually been several similar cases around the world, many of which remain unexplained to this day.

During the late-1970s, residents of Bristol, England, were among the first people to report hearing a steady humming sound in the distance. In 1980, Bristol's environmental health officers used noise monitoring equipment to try to track down the source. Though it was eventually blamed on automobile traffic and local factories, reports of the Hum continue to this day, some 40 years later.

The beachfront neighborhood of Bondi in Sydney, Australia, has also had a Hum for several years. As one resident told Australia's Daily Telegraph, "It sends people around here crazy, all you can do is put music on to block it out. Some people leave fans on."

A few years ago in Kokomo, Indiana, hundreds of residents reported hearing a Hum, and the city's municipal government commissioned a study to investigate in 2003. Despite concluding the Hum was caused by nearby industrial noises, reports of the sound continued even after noise restrictions were placed on the suspected factories.

Possible Causes

So what really is causing this mystery Hum? Well, it's important to remember that sound is all around us. Most of it goes unnoticed until we start paying attention to it, and there are easily hundreds of possible explanations. Most researchers do feel fairly certain that the Hum is real, though there is no consensus on a direct cause.

Industrial equipment is often the first suspected source of the Hum, as was the case in Bristol and Kokomo. Other possible explanations include high-pressure gas lines, electrical power lines and wireless communication devices. There's also a theory that the Hum could be the result of low-frequency electromagnetic radiation which is only audible to some people. Other environmental factors have also been blamed, including seismic activity like microseisms, which are very faint, low-frequency tremors that can be generated by the action of ocean waves.

Medical Explanations

Since it's been hard to verify environmental causes, some have offered medical explanations for the Hum. Tinnitus is one potential cause. This is the perception of sound when no external noise is present. Testing has shown that many Hum hearers, however, have normal hearing.

Some have also proposed that people who can hear the Hum, like those in Taos, might have unusually strong hearing and are able to pick up noises that most other humans cannot. It's also possible the Hum is simply an auditory hallucination. Some of the Taos Hum hearers, for example, have reported hearing it even after they have moved out of the area.

Conspiracy Theories

Of course, any time there is an unexplained phenomena in science, conspiracy theories are sure to follow.

Some believe the Hum is the result of military experiments or submarine communications. The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, has also been a popular target of conspiracy theorists. Some believe this government agency, which conducts research on Earth's ionosphere, is conducting experiments which create the Hum (interestingly, conspiracy theorists also claim HAARP can manipulate weather) .

And then there is the age-old culprit for anything unexplained - Aliens.

The Mystery Continues

Is an Alien spaceship hovering over Earth the real cause of the Hum? Unlikely.

As with most things in science, just because something is unexplained, doesn't mean it never will be. There are various potential causes of this strange noise, and in each case, there may be different explanations. Whether the Taos Hum is real, or just a product of human imagination, will be best solved by further research down the line.

For now though, the Hum will remain a mystery.

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Unexplained Noises - What is the Taos Hum? | Sporcle Blog

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Taos is a small town in north-central New Mexico. To a passerby, it might not seem all that different from any other quiet American town. Listen carefully though, and you may find that Taos isn't so quiet after all. Since the early 1990s, some residents and visitors of Taos have reported hearing a constant low-frequency buzzing or rumbling noise.

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This video gives a background on the town and what noises could be. The video is dated back to many different stories of what people hear and what it does to them like rattling their teeth. Throughout this video the red flag the is very apparent is mystical energy. Many of the people in the video talk about what they think causes the noise. They talk about the crust of the earth being shallow, the volcanoes that used to be active there and on person stats that it could be an alien spaceship crashed into the hills and is making the noise from underground. In the video any scientific proof or reasoning isn't talked about but instead it gives stories and allows for the viewers to hear why it happens and believe that it is happening. Many people believe that it is because of some energy that is released from the earth.

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Taos Hum in Taos, NM The hum, a low-frequency buzz that was a constant annoyance to those who heard it, attracted media attention several years ago. Scientists from the state's national laboratories and several universities descended on Taos to measure everything from seismic and electro-magnetic vibrations to the sensitivity of the human ear.

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This video here is just a short video that is playing an audio clip of what is thought to be the noise heard. The video does not state what was used to detect the noise or provide any scientific reasoning. I believe the red flag in the video is unexplained. I think that because the video does not help explain the noise or give any information on it. I think because of that the video is not further explaining anything but is allowing the listeners to believe in the theory. If the video explained scientifically what was going on and compared it to other noises that are thought to be the cause it would be a very good form of proof. Because of that I don't believe this video helps to prove anything in this theory.

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In this video telegraph sounds some researchers to try to prove the noise with more of a scientific approach. Even though the team sent to investigate takes all the proper equipment a red flag throughout this video is confirmation bias. The team interviews locals that have heard the noise and this allows for them to believe they are hearing the noise but as stated in the video in is not possible to differentiate the difference between what noise they are searching for and just a quite background noise. Because the team is informed of what the noise sounds like it is very easy to believe that is what they are hearing when it could easily be explained as hydro lines or faint noises of machines and vehicles.

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The Hum - weird noise plaguing village is investigated by the Telegraph

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The Telegraph sent a crack team of investigators and some equipment lying around the office, to find the source of 'the hum', a mysterious noise plaguing a Co Durham village at night.

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This image is a photo of what is picked up on some devices. Although the image is trying to prove that the noise can be detected in the article with this image a red flag that is used is red herring. Throughout the explanation of the image the article provides facts that are not helping to prove the theory. Rather the facts are to distract and allow for the readers to distracted and use their own thinking to complete the points. By doing this it allows for people to come up with their own reasons and solutions for the noise. This allows for more people to believe in the theory rather than if more scientific facts are given less people would be lead to believing in the theory.

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Answers to post #11.

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This image is showing the town of Taos Hum and what the noise wavelengths looks like. Although this article talks about other places that the noise can be heard it does not provide any scientific reasoning specific to Taos Hum. Throughout the article the mystical energy is referenced multiple times. The article states that because of the earth emitting a low frequency hum and because of the locations of certain places it can be heard. The article doesn't state why only certain can hear it and why noise detecting devices are any able to prove what the noise is.

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It has been confirmed that the Earth emits a very low-frequency hum, but it is not within the realm of human hearing. However, there have been reports of low rumbling sounds coming from several places around the world. most recently, the hums were reported in Taos, New Mexico; Kokomo, Indiana; England; and Scotland. The infamous Taos hum was researched by congressional order-but a study found no evidence of it. Some people believe it's just a case of mass hysteria, and that the hum in Taos doesn't even exist at all. Conspiracy theorists point to government mind control experiments and unseen UFOs as the culprits.

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The Unexplained Mystery Of The Tas, New Mexico Hum

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It has been confirmed that the Earth emits a very low-frequency hum, but it is not within the realm of human hearing. However, there have been reports of low rumbling sounds coming from several places around the world. most recently, the hums were reported in Taos, New Mexico; Kokomo, Indiana; England; and Scotland.

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This image is showing wavelengths of noise reaching the ear. The image however does not show how the Taos Hum is heard or what devices are used to hear it. A common red flag with this is unexplained. The article with the image is giving many different reasons on what the noise is however it doesn't further explain any theories rather it gives many different places where a noise can be heard. The article gives a lot of useless information on many different circumstances. I think it is very easy to come to your own conclusions with this article and not enough scientific proof is used for it to be considered a useful image.

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For perhaps as long as 70 years, individuals have heard a persistent, low-frequency sound that others cannot hear and that refuses to abate, even with the use of earplugs. It has taken on many names depending on its location: the Taos Hum, the Kokomo Hum, the Bristol Hum, and the Bondi Hum, to name a few of the most publicized cases. To this day, it is unknown whether this sound actually exists or not, but it has indisputably affected thousands of people and has been linked to at least three suicides.

The Hum has consistently been described as sounding like a Diesel engine, and accounts have detailed instances in which other potential causes were ruled out, such as traffic, household appliances, or other mechanical devices. A study from the Taos Hum data found that between 2% and 11% of the population of a Hum-affected area can hear the sound, most of whom are between the ages of 55 and 70. Cases have been reported all over the world, but are particularly concentrated in the U.S. and Europe.

The phenomenon is so widespread, there is even a 'World Hum Map and Database', which provides the opportunity for "hearers" to log their location when they hear the hum online for the creation of a worldwide map.

[Credit: The Hum]

There are also many re-creations of the Hum on the internet. One Youtube user, who claims that the Hum occurs more frequently near sunspots, created this recording:

[Credit: resuocs99]

One common thread among many of the reports is psychological distress, even despair. "It's a kind of torture; sometimes, you just want to scream," said retiree Katie Jacques of Leeds, England. "It has a rhythm to it - it goes up and down. It sounds almost like a diesel car idling in the distance and you want to go and ask somebody to switch the engine off - and you can't."

"It's worst at night," Jacques said. "It's hard to get off to sleep because I hear this throbbing sound in the background ... You're tossing and turning, and you get more and more agitated about it."

Sufferers have generally reported hearing the Hum indoors, usually in a specific location, like their home. They usually have perfectly normal hearing otherwise, and in many cases have had conditions like tinnitus definitively ruled out. Researchers have also found that the noise is often louder at night, and that it's more common in suburban or rural areas (but both of these trends may just be the result of a quieter environment).

Many explanations for the Hum have been proposed, and in some cases confirmed. The West Seattle Hum was caused by a vacuum pump used to offload cargo from ships, The Wellington Hum was caused by a Diesel generator on a ship, the Kokomo Hum was caused by tones coming from two different industrial plants, the Bristol hum was caused by traffic and factories, and a Hum reported in Hawaii was caused by volcanic activity. But in many other cases, no explanation could be found, and attempts to pick up the sound using electronic microphones have been futile. In these cases, dark, elaborate conspiracy theories arise, including UFOs, submarine communication devices, secret military activity, and sinister psychological tests conducted by the government.

A Cambridge doctor named David Baguley believes he has a psychological explanation, but it doesn't involve government conspiracies. "People do come up with some strongly constructed, sometimes strange theories," he said, but he asserts that the real explanation is much more banal: the sufferers' hearing has become oversensitive. He explains that the human body has defense mechanisms that cause us to be more hyper-aware of sounds in times of stress, making that sound seem louder than it is. "If you're sitting by a table waiting for exam results and the phone rings you jump out of your skin. Waiting for a teenager to come home from a party - the key in the door sounds really loud. Your internal gain is sensitised."

He postulates that hearers may have just become overly focused on an innocuous background noise: "It becomes a vicious cycle. The more people focus on the noise, the more anxious and fearful they get, the more the body responds by amplifying the sound, and that causes even more upset and distress."

The Hum also plays a significant role in popular culture. It was featured in an X-Files episode featuring a pre-fame Bryan Cranston in which the sound originated from U.S. Navy radio waves. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan wrote the episode, and Cranston's performance inspired his casting as the iconic Walter White.

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The Hum: A Worldwide Phenomenon That's Driving People Insane

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For perhaps as long as 70 years, individuals have heard a persistent, low-frequency sound that others cannot hear and that refuses to abate, even with the use of earplugs. It has taken on many names depending on its location: the Taos Hum, the Kokomo Hum, the Bristol Hum, and the Bondi Hum, to name a few of the most publicized cases.