# Laurel or Yanny **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250 "2018-05-15T23:29:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/21 "2018-05-16T05:53:33Z")
Yanny. Full stop. I can’t even process how laurel is possible from the sound I hear. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/22 "2018-05-16T06:15:32Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m the exact opposite. > > How to hear both: [https://www.spin.com/2018/05/how-to-hear-yanny-laurel/](https://www.spin.com/2018/05/how-to-hear-yanny-laurel/) > > It apparently has to do with the frequencies you can hear. “Yanni” is transmitted at the upper range of human-audible frequencies around 20kHz while “Laurel” is transmitted at lower freqs. I’m surprised a man in his mid-30s like myself can still hear around 20kHz. > > It might have been interesting to split the poll along gender and age lines. Perhaps posters could mention that along with what they hear. Very interesting article. I heard “Yanni” in all versions I could find by Googling, so it was interesting to hear how “Laurel” could be generated by the clip. I’m actually surprised that I’m hearing Yanni since I’m a 66-year-old male. So I still should be able to hear bird calls well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/23 "2018-05-16T06:21:35Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I’m the exact opposite. > > How to hear both: [https://www.spin.com/2018/05/how-to-hear-yanny-laurel/](https://www.spin.com/2018/05/how-to-hear-yanny-laurel/) > > It apparently has to do with the frequencies you can hear. “Yanni” is transmitted at the upper range of human-audible frequencies around 20kHz while “Laurel” is transmitted at lower freqs. I’m surprised a man in his mid-30s like myself can still hear around 20kHz. > > It might have been interesting to split the poll along gender and age lines. Perhaps posters could mention that along with what they hear. Interesting. Yeah, male, 42,so no surprise I’m not hearing in the 20khz range. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/24 "2018-05-16T06:26:03Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > It apparently has to do with the frequencies you can hear. “Yanni” is transmitted at the upper range of human-audible frequencies around 20kHz while “Laurel” is transmitted at lower freqs. I’m surprised a man in his mid-30s like myself can still hear around 20kHz. I heard it as “Yanny” on my Dell laptop’s teensy speakers. However, when I plugged in my vintage Pickering over-the-ear headphones, I clearly heard “Laurel.” They’re both there. The “Laurel” is a deep, adult male voice; “Yanny” is higher, nasal, and chipmunk-ish. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/25 "2018-05-16T07:40:05Z")
Interesting. I played it on my iPhone; when I put my phone up to my ear, I clearly hear it as “Laurel”, but when I hold it at arm’s length it sounds something like “Yeewee”. Try it yourselves. (Male, 43, who sometimes thinks he should have his hearing checked). ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/26 "2018-05-16T08:58:38Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Yorrel. This is what I heard as well. Don’t know if it was the accent or the speaker intentionally running lettters together, but I could definitely hear a ‘y’ sound at the start. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/27 "2018-05-16T09:28:40Z")
Both. I hear a higher-timbred voice saying ‘Yanny’ synchronously with a deeper voice saying ‘Laurel’. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/28 "2018-05-16T10:14:04Z")
All I hear is Yarry. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/29 "2018-05-16T10:23:45Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Both. I hear a higher-timbred voice saying ‘Yanny’ synchronously with a deeper voice saying ‘Laurel’. Exactly. I hear both. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/30 "2018-05-16T11:22:49Z")
I’m hearing impaired and do not have my hearing aid in right now. I’ll just agree with whatever closed captioning says. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/31 "2018-05-16T11:29:35Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Sounds like “Yarry” to me. Not even a hint of Laurel. And no N sound really. Our daughter played this for us last night. She hears “Laurel”, my wife Pepper Mill hears “Yanny”, and I hear “Yarry”, as you do. The two of us can’t hear a “l” sound at all. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/32 "2018-05-16T11:37:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Both. I hear a higher-timbred voice saying ‘Yanny’ synchronously with a deeper voice saying ‘Laurel’. Same. Clearly both. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/33 "2018-05-16T11:40:16Z")
Another vote for “yammy” and no idea how anyone could hear “Laurel”. Of course, I’ll come back to this time and time again, just as I did with the BLUE & BLACK dress and may eventually hear it. I love this kind of stuff (even if I don’t understand it). ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/34 "2018-05-16T11:50:02Z")
First time I played it it started off ambiguous, then my brain resolved it into Laurel. Now I can’t hear any ambiguity at all, regardless of if it’s sped up, slowed down or on crappy speakers. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/35 "2018-05-16T11:54:07Z")
I hear, “Mutton Vindaloo” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/36 "2018-05-16T12:24:33Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Both. I hear a higher-timbred voice saying ‘Yanny’ synchronously with a deeper voice saying ‘Laurel’. Is this the reason for the ambiguity? Can this be an auditory version of the “Hybrid Image” situation? In case you haven’t encountered it, a “hybrid image” is one in which two vaguely similar images are overlaid atop one another, but you only have the high spatial frequency components for one image and only the low frequency spatial components for the other. The result is an image that, up close, looks like the high spatial frequency component part, but far away looks like the low frequencu component parts. One famous example used simultaneous images of Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein: > **[Hybrid image](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_image)** > > A hybrid image is an image that is perceived in one of two different ways, depending on viewing distance, based on the way humans process visual input. A technique for creating hybrid images exhibiting this optical illusion was developed by Aude Oliva of MIT and Philippe G. Schyns of University of Glasgow, a method they originally proposed in 1994. Hybrid images combine the low spatial frequencies of one picture with the high spatial frequencies of another picture, producing an image with an inte... > **[Hybrid images: Now you see them](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325971-600-hybrid-images-now-you-see-them/)** > > Phantom-like optical illusions are helping us understand how the brain processes vision - try some for yourself The examples you can find on the internet don’t look particularly impressive, but I saw a display of these at the MIT museum that was pretty startling. (but even THEIR internet version is underwhelming – [http://cvcl.mit.edu/hybrid\_gallery/gallery.html](http://cvcl.mit.edu/hybrid_gallery/gallery.html) ) It would be an easy thing to separate out high and low frequency audio components from two different words and broadcast them simultaneously, especially if you’re using artificial voice. In any event, even using real human voices it’d sound artificial. This would also explain why for many people changing the volume changes the perceived word – it’s the auditory equivalent of standing closer to or farther from the hybrid image. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/37 "2018-05-16T12:28:34Z")
When I played the clip on this computer, it was “yammy.” When I played it on my laptop, it was “laurel” for me, but my husband heard “yanny.” When he played it on his laptop, he heard “laurel,” with a side of “yanny.” I just heard “laurel.” ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/38 "2018-05-16T12:29:25Z")
Unambiguously Laurel here. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/39 "2018-05-16T12:34:55Z")
> [@wonky](#): > > When I played the clip on this computer, it was “yammy.” When I played it on my laptop, it was “laurel” for me, but my husband heard “yanny.” When he played it on his laptop, he heard “laurel,” with a side of “yanny.” I just heard “laurel.” After some tinkering: On this computer, simply adjusting the volume makes it switch. At 100%, it’s “laurel.” At 90% or thereabouts, I can hear both. Anything under about 80% and it’s “yammy.” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250/40 "2018-05-16T12:53:35Z")
I shared this with my office. Academically I get the concept but it’s trippy to listen to the same thing at the same time as someone else and know we hear two totally different things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laurel-or-yanny/814250.md?page=3)