- You have to hear it to believe it.
But you shouldn't.
- Let's talk about that.
(intro music)
(whoosh)
(bubbling)
(roar)
- Good Mythical Morning.
- Rhett, are you familiar with the old saying,
"You're so full of crap, it's coming outta your ears?"
- I'm familiar with the more vulgar version of that.
- Well, today, we're gonna be putting crap
into your ears, and by crap--
- Ewww.
- No, by crap, I mean illusions, in the form of audio.
- You never know on this show. (chuckles)
- I'm talking audio illusions.
(whoosh)
- [Link] It's time to feel confusion
from these audio illusions.
Okay, Rhett, I'm gonna run you through a battery
of audio illusions, where your ears are going to
trick your brain, and you're gonna--
it may be confusing, it may be fun,
you also can experience it.
- Well, I love tricks, I love sound.
And I love to be confused. - Check. Check. Check.
- I have all of it.
- I knew all of this. If you love those things,
you'll need speakers, and then for the last one,
you will need headphones.
(whoosh)
Alright, we have brought in some huge speakers,
so that you can experience the phantom words illusion.
Again, it works best with speakers for you too.
I'm gonna play a word or phrase for you from
an existing experiment created by Dr. Diana Deutsch,
of UCSB, that is split up by panning half of the word
or phrase all the way to the right,
and then the other half all the way to the left,
so each half will mix in the air,
and then mix in your ears and in your brain--
- Oh, gosh.
- So then, your brain is going to try to decipher it.
So I just want you to sit right in the middle, okay?
And then just relax, you don't have to overthink this.
Sit right in the middle there.
And tell me what you hear when the track is up.
Hit it.
(repetitive vocal sounds)
Alright, I'll move back over here.
Tell me what you heard.
- That was exhilarating.
At first I heard "no wah, no wah, no wah, no wah,
"no wah, no wah, no"
And then I heard--
- That's not a word. Or a phrase.
- Like telling a baby like "no wah!"
- Okay, that's a phrase.
- Moms who didn't know how to tell a kid--
didn't know the word for cry.
- And then it shifts to something else?
- No wah! No way, no way, no way, no way,
no way, no way, no way, no way, no way!
(chuckles)
- No way. Okay, people do hear that.
They also hear "window". I'm curious what you heard.
Send it to me through the Internet.
Oh, some people heard "love me".
"Run away."
"No brain."
"Rainbow," "rain coat," or even "bueno."
- "Bueno." Hmm.
- You wanna know what it was actually?
- Yeah.
- I don't know.
(laughs) - Oh.
- She didn't reveal what it was.
- Oh, The Deutschster.
- She put a Deutsch on us. - Yeah, the ol' Deutsch.
- Which is pretty frustrating--
- Dr. Deutsch.
- The point is that your brain wants to make sense
of nonsense, even though ironically there is actually
a word in there that's not revealed.
When it's reduced to a palette of sounds,
it's called-- the process is called paredolia.
It's similar to when you look at a cloud,
and you might see a fire truck,
and I see Demi Lovato.
- You make sense of it. Yeah.
- You make sense of it.
But I was frustrated in not knowing the answer.
So, I created a few more.
So move back to the center.
And these are our homemade phantom words, okay?
So, play the first one.
(repetitive vocal sounds)
What did you hear in that one?
- "Nochi?" - Alright, let's play that--
- I'm mispronouncing gnocchi.
Give me the "no-chee!"
(laughs) - That's not--
- I love that potato pasta!
(crew laughing)
- That's right. How do you say it?
- Gnocchi. - Oh. No, just kidding.
Okay, so play it slower, let's reveal the actual answer.
- [Recorded Voice] No chin. No chin. No chin.
No chin. No chin. No chin. No chin.
(crew laughing)
- You trying to say something about me?
(crew laughing)
I do have a chin, it's called a beard.
(crew laughing)
- Alright, alright, here's another one we made--
- Look at that. It's beautiful.
- See if you can identify this one.
(repetitive vocal sounds)
- "Zo-axis?" (crew laughing)
Why, why-- - What is the answer?
- [Recorded Voice] Psoriasis.
- Yeah. Psoriasis.
Why are you putting out all my flaws, man?
(laughs)
Put out some of my assets.
- I think you're hearing your flaws.
You're projecting.
- What else could I be? It said psoriasis.
(crew laughing)
- Yeah, you're right. Alright--
You know what, since you're catching on,
let's just skip to the slow one.
- [Recorded Voice] It's a good thing you can't
have any more kids. It's a good thing--
- Oh, yep.
(crew laughing)
That is a good thing.
(crew laughing)
There's nothing to be ashamed about with that!
(whoosh)
- Alright, we having fun? - Yeah!
- Let's do another one.
This is called the speech to song illusion.
- Oh.
- Again, we are using speakers.
You can use anything you want for this one.
Just listen to this clip and tell me if it
turns into a song for you.
- Okay.
- [Female Voice] The sounds as they appear to you
are not only different from those that are really present,
but they sometimes behave so strangely,
as to seem quite impossible.
But they sometimes behave so strangely,
they sometimes behave so strangely,
sometimes behave so strangely,
sometimes behave so strangely--
- Yeah. I mean--
- Did it become a song?
- Yeah. I mean, I think part of this has to do
with the fact that like,
loops are so popular,
that they've been music-applied before,
but she has a very singsong-y voice.
- Yeah. - Music! What did she say?
- Sometimes behaves so strangely.
- It's like Mary Poppins.
- But it, I mean, I think it is still more
songified in your brain than it is in the real world.
And there's some science behind this.
Again, if you isolate a spoken phrase and loop it,
it begins to sound like a song.
Assuming that neural circuitries underlying
speech and song are at some point
distinct and separate--
- Yeah, like mine.
- Ways that you process in your brain.
Repetition can actually shift your brain over
from the speech perceptual circuitry
over to the song perceptual circuitry.
- Cause once you understand...
- And transferring it to music.
- What is being said then you're gonna start
thinking about the notes.
Because I'm making notes as I speak right now.
I'm just making the same note over and over again.
But it changes-- (talking over each other)
- She had intonation.
But again, I think the theory of the illusion
is that it's going even further.
And I wanted to see if we could do this with
an intro from Good Mythical Morning.
- Wow.
- So, let's play that.
- [Rhett Voiceover] Today we find out which
hot dog is the top dog.
- [Link Voiceover] Let's talk about that.
- [Rhett Voiceover] Which hot dog is the top dog.
Which hot dog is the top dog.
- Which hot dog is the top dog.
- That's me. See I have a singsong-y voice.
It's very pleasant.
(crew laughs)
- But to really land this one, we have another version.
- [Rhett Voiceover] Which hot dog is the top dog?
(drum track)
Which hot dog is the top dog?
- Me!
- [Rhett Voiceover] Which hot dog is the top dog?
- Me!
Yo, we're both great! - What?
- Remember?
(laughs) - Yeah, we're both great.
- Yeah.
- Ah, missed the opportunity.
Still haven't quite gotten that,
we give that to the Gregory Brothers,
and they can take it all the way.
- Right.
(whoosh)
Okay, throw on your cans for this one,
it is the 3-D sound illusion.
I am going to give you the experience,
auditorially, of having your hair cut by a barber.
- Oh.
- Put 'em on and play it.
- [Recorded Voice] Welcome to the Starkey Cetera Barbershop
and your virtual hair cut.
Now, as I begin the clipping--
- I've got headphones on.
- [Recorded Voice] I bring the clip closer to your ear,
very close to the right ear, follow me as
I move around the back of the head--
- Do you have a reference for how I want this done?
(rapid clipping)
- Now you can get the same effect better with
the electric razor, I'll first bring it close to
your right ear--
(buzzing)
- Why does he talk like Mario?
(buzzing)
- [Recorded Voice] Closer, and then around the back
And onto your left.
(buzzing)
I think that looks wonderful.
- I never thought--
I know I did not want Mario to cut my hair, but--
- Now you really know that?
I meant to tell you to close your eyes,
that helps the experience a little bit,
but how was it?
- Well, no, it was more than just he was on the right
and the left, he was literally behind me,
like moving in a U behind my head.
- Right, it's interesting.
Obviously, they use volume and balancing panning
between your right and left ears,
but they also alter the arrival times of sounds
between your right and left ear
to help you believe spatial relationships
and the location of the barber or the clippers
or whatever the case may be.
This was created by QSound Labs back in 1996.
- Oh, yeah. Sounded like a '96.
- It's got some vintage-ness to it.
Uploaded to YouTube in 2007.
25 million views, though, so you can't--
- Really?
- Yeah. - Wow.
- So I think back in the day this was like
blowing people's minds.
But I've created a new one to blow your mind.
I wanted to take you back to an actual experience we had
our freshman year in high school.
It's a story we told on Ear Biscuits,
maybe you'll remember it as we step through this thing.
- You want me to close my eyes?
- Yeah, I would definitely close your eyes for this one.
- [Link Voiceover] Hey Rhett, it's me, Link.
I'm standing on your left.
Now I'm standing on your right,
and your left, now your right,
now your right again, ha! Fooled ya!
You thought I was gonna be on your left, didn't ya?
Okay, let's get on with it.
We're in the eighth grade,
we're at a party at a friend's house.
It's the '90s, so there's some totally
tubular '90s music in the background.
Now we're walking through the house.
You notice there's a room, a special room.
You turn around and say, "Hey Link, I found a special room."
You open the door.
(door opening)
When I realize what kind of room it is,
I whisper in your right ear and say,
"It's a kissing room!"
There's a bunch of people kissing in this room,
but there are two girls that aren't kissing anyone.
It's Anna and Amber.
Amber calls out, "Hey, Rhett!
"Come and sit by me! Ooh la la!"
And then Anna calls out, "Hey, Link!
"Come and sit by me, merci beaucoup!"
So we sit with these girls.
Anna takes a big swig of Sprite.
(soda fizzing) (slurping)
- I don't remember that.
(crew laughing)
- [Link Voiceover] "Aaaaahh."
You look over at Amber and see
she's taking a big bite out of an apple.
(apple crunching) "Mmmmmm."
- I don't remember that either.
- [Link Voiceover] "Mmmmmm."
There was no apple involved.
(crew laughing)
You likey.
We've both never wanted to make out more in our lives.
Not with each other. With girls.
Good thing I practiced kissing on the wall of my shower.
(shower running) (kissing)
- Really?
(shower running) (kissing)
- [Link Voiceover] I tilt my head left
and go in for the kiss.
(kissing)
- Ew, gosh.
(crew laughing)
- This is unpleasant. I don't remember--
(talking and audio playback overlaps)
- [Link Voiceover] I open my eyes and look at you.
And you're looking right back at me.
You're making out with Amber over here.
(kissing)
- Look at us.
Pimps!
(kissing)
- [Link Voiceover] And I'm making out with Anna over here.
(slurping)
- That's how it happened, man.
- [Link Voiceover] And we're staring at each other.
And you're thinking, "this is pretty cool, man."
(slurping)
- Oh, gosh.
(slurping)
This is so not true to life.
(wet kissing)
Ugh!
- [Link Voiceover] I also used to practice
kissing the bedpost.
My mom would walk in and catch me sometimes.
- That's exactly how it happened.
- Why did you confess-- you didn't have to
confess so many awkward things.
(crew laughing)
- I don't know, I just got on a roll,
that's what happens with audio illusions.
You get free. (laughs)
- I learned some stuff, I don't know how much
scientific stuff I learned, I learned some stuff
about you, but I guess, it's too late,
we're best friends now.
- Well, you were there.
(laughing)
And you can't deny it.
- Yeah, I was.
- Thank you for liking, commenting, and subscribing.
- You know what time it is.
- Hi, I'm Sarah.
- And I'm Andrew.
- And we're from Long Beach, California.
- And we're here at the gum wall in Seattle, Washington.
- And it's time to spin the Wheel of Mythicality.
- If you liked that as much as we do,
you're gonna love our podcast, Ear Biscuits
available wherever podcasts are found.
Also on our This is Mythical YouTube channel.
- And, click through to Good Mythical More.
We're gonna do the Whisper Challenge, y'all.
Ooh-whee.
(chuckles)
- Ooh, I'm so excited.
- Ooh, doggy.
(laugh)
- Whoa! Gifticality!
That means we're donating $1000 to Save the Children to aid
in their mission to create a world where
every child is able to live a safe, full, beautiful life
through global humanitarian work.
Please join us in giving at www.SaveTheChildren.net.
- Thank you for being your Mythical Best.
- Yes.
(outro music)
- [Link] Thanks for clicking subscribe.
Click on the left to watch the show after the show,
Good Mythical More.
- [Rhett] Click on the right to watch
another episode of Good Mythical Morning.
- [Link] And be sure to check out our other channel
This is Mythical, by clicking the video on the bottom
Thanks for being your mythical best.
(outro music)