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I thought it was accepted now that those were cicadas? [1] [2] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/science/sonic-attack-cuba-crickets.html https://www.nytim

I thought it was accepted now that those were cicadas? [1] [2] [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/science/sonic-attack-cuba-crickets.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/science/sonic-attack-cuba... [2] https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/76hgkmv/havana-syndrome-did-a-secret-weapon-fry https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs/76hgkmv/havana-synd...

jlmorton 5y ago
It is. The linked article is from 2018, before it was determined the recordings were of crickets.
- jjeaff 5y ago
  But that doesn't explain the now hundreds of similar reports of illness and other side effects, usually reported after hearing the sound.
  - jonny_eh 5y ago
    Mass hysteria combined with nocebo effect? Triggered by an encounter with cicada trapped in a hotel room. Similar example, the Pokemon Panic of 1997: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Radford#Pok%C3%A9mon_panic_(1997) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Radford#Pok%C3%A9mon_... A few legit cases of seizure triggered thousands of "false" cases.
    - fay59 5y ago
      These attacks are reported to have long-lasting consequences. That would be (I think?) incompatible with mass hysteria or nocebo effects.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
  - jlmorton 5y ago
    Remarkably, after the recordings that preceded the illnesses were found to be crickets, everyone stopped reporting the cricket noise before the illness. Now, the American diplomats in Vienna report a new noise, a ringing in their ears, which apparently is not recorded.
SeanLuke 5y ago
Now the "cicadas" and neurological damage are occurring near the White House. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/us-investigating-peculiar-attacks-with-hallmarks-of-havana-syndrome-near-white-house.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/us-investigating-peculiar-at... https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/us-investigating-mysterious-directed-energy-attack-white-house/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/us-investigating-mys... I think it's looking more and more like an actual attack.
- mc32 5y ago
  Or countermeasure going haywire.
  - SeanLuke 5y ago
    Or countermeasure going haywire. At any rate, not cicadas.
    - mc32 5y ago
      Yes, that seems like an obvious dead end, if not decoy.
  - eli 5y ago
    Or someone just had a bad headache. I don't think it's very likely that there's a secret energy weapon hidden in the bushes near the whitehouse.
  - mcguire 5y ago
    From the article: "While the equipment we used in our Cuban re-creation is relatively bulky, ultrasonic emitters can be quite tiny, no larger than a piece of Rolo candy. Online, we found a manufacturer in Russia that sells a fashionable leather clutch that conceals an ultrasonic emitter, presumably to jam recording devices at cocktail parties. We also found electronics stores that carry high- power ultrasonic jammers that cause microphones to malfunction. One advertised jammer emits 120-dB ultrasonic interference at a distance of 1 meter. That’s like standing next to a chainsaw. If a signal from that caliber jammer were to combine with a second ultrasonic source, audible by-products could result." Consider an countermeasure ultrasonic emitter intended to jam microphones in proximity to, say, a spy emitter using ultrasonic sound as a carrier wave for a microphone, as described in the article.
fanatic2pope 5y ago
Interesting. When the cicadas get bad I do have a lot of trouble working for long periods in my outdoor shop. My ears ring and I get headaches.
spywaregorilla 5y ago
It does seem likely that the sound being recorded was crickets. However, that doesn't really prove that sound of crickets was the thing causing problems if it's being replicated in washington.

jlmorton 5y ago

It is. The linked article is from 2018, before it was determined the recordings were of crickets.

jjeaff 5y ago
But that doesn't explain the now hundreds of similar reports of illness and other side effects, usually reported after hearing the sound.
- jonny_eh 5y ago
  Mass hysteria combined with nocebo effect? Triggered by an encounter with cicada trapped in a hotel room. Similar example, the Pokemon Panic of 1997: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Radford#Pok%C3%A9mon_panic_(1997) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Radford#Pok%C3%A9mon_... A few legit cases of seizure triggered thousands of "false" cases.
  - fay59 5y ago
    These attacks are reported to have long-lasting consequences. That would be (I think?) incompatible with mass hysteria or nocebo effects.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- jlmorton 5y ago
  Remarkably, after the recordings that preceded the illnesses were found to be crickets, everyone stopped reporting the cricket noise before the illness. Now, the American diplomats in Vienna report a new noise, a ringing in their ears, which apparently is not recorded.

SeanLuke 5y ago

Now the "cicadas" and neurological damage are occurring near the White House. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/us-investigating-peculiar-attacks-with-hallmarks-of-havana-syndrome-near-white-house.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/us-investigating-peculiar-at... https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/us-investigating-mysterious-directed-energy-attack-white-house/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/29/politics/us-investigating-mys... I think it's looking more and more like an actual attack.

mc32 5y ago
Or countermeasure going haywire.
- SeanLuke 5y ago
  Or countermeasure going haywire. At any rate, not cicadas.
  - mc32 5y ago
    Yes, that seems like an obvious dead end, if not decoy.
- eli 5y ago
  Or someone just had a bad headache. I don't think it's very likely that there's a secret energy weapon hidden in the bushes near the whitehouse.
- mcguire 5y ago
  From the article: "While the equipment we used in our Cuban re-creation is relatively bulky, ultrasonic emitters can be quite tiny, no larger than a piece of Rolo candy. Online, we found a manufacturer in Russia that sells a fashionable leather clutch that conceals an ultrasonic emitter, presumably to jam recording devices at cocktail parties. We also found electronics stores that carry high- power ultrasonic jammers that cause microphones to malfunction. One advertised jammer emits 120-dB ultrasonic interference at a distance of 1 meter. That’s like standing next to a chainsaw. If a signal from that caliber jammer were to combine with a second ultrasonic source, audible by-products could result." Consider an countermeasure ultrasonic emitter intended to jam microphones in proximity to, say, a spy emitter using ultrasonic sound as a carrier wave for a microphone, as described in the article.

fanatic2pope 5y ago

Interesting. When the cicadas get bad I do have a lot of trouble working for long periods in my outdoor shop. My ears ring and I get headaches.

spywaregorilla 5y ago

It does seem likely that the sound being recorded was crickets. However, that doesn't really prove that sound of crickets was the thing causing problems if it's being replicated in washington.