Okay, I need you to look at this GIF created by HappyToast back in 2008, and tell me if you hear any noise when the jumping pylon hits the ground.
@lisadebruine Hi there, yeah, for some reason people like cropping my name off the bottom
All right, now look at this GIF that only shows the ground shaking. Do you still hear a thump?
@TruthInSynth @lisadebruine The thump is almost entirely in the shake, if you crop out the pylons themselves you ca… https://t.co/JNKJwee48G
While this GIF has made the internet rounds several times, it recently resurfaced thanks to Dr. Lisa DeBruine, a researcher at the University of Glasgow, who tweeted the GIF trying to understand why exactly people hear a noise.
What do you experience when you watch this gif?
So what the heck is going on here? Some believe it's a form of synesthesia, meaning the sensory inputs in your brain are cross-wiring, like when people associate sounds with colors.
Others think it might be because your brain is expecting a loud noise, so your ears close up.
It's not just this GIF though — there are others that also appear to be making noise, such as this clip of Totoro jumping.
@weissjeffm