# Is this a news story or a joke??

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501 "2006-06-12T23:00:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Anise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anise/32/21721_2.png) [@Anise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anise)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501/1 "2006-06-12T23:00:33Z")

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[http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060612100909990004&ncid=NWS00010000000001](http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060612100909990004&ncid=NWS00010000000001)

It’s the new cell phone ring that supposedly only teenagers are able to hear. I heard the sample tone, and it is one of the MOST piercingly irritating sounds I’ve EVER heard (I’m 37, btw.) If I was teaching a class where this ring tone went off, I think I would give the person detention for making me listen to it. Come on, is there actually any remotely significant section of the population who can’t hear this? Is it just a joke, or a dumb marketing gimmick??

Puzzled,

Anise

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501/2 "2006-06-12T23:02:17Z")

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I refer you to [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=375454). And yes, it appears to be real.

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501/3 "2006-06-12T23:45:25Z")

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I believe it’s real. Not that I can hear it. Not sure whether to be grateful for that or not. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501/4 "2006-06-12T23:55:37Z")

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It doesn’t surprise me that most adults cannot hear it. I distinctly remember, when I was a kid, walking into department store television departments and being annoyed by a constant, high-pitched whine coming from the electronics. I don’t hear now, as an adult, when I pass TV displays. Then again, maybe TV technology has advanced to the point where the sets just don’t make that noise any more.

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**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-news-story-or-a-joke/360501/5 "2006-06-13T00:19:11Z")

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See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=375454) for more comments.

This one’s closed.

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