Pacific Standard March-April 2013 Cover

How Will I Survive the Cicada Invasion?

cicada

As you've surely seen, the East Coast is preparing for a pending cicada invasion. And by "preparing," I mean "hyperventilating in front of a computer screen." Sure, everything happening remotely close to New York always gets blown out or proportion—that big gray cloud you just Instagrammed is going to release water, which is called "rain"; everyone will be fine—but, I mean, there are going to be a lot of cicadas, like multiple-hundreds per person. Despite the pending invasion of these mutating alien-shrimp pods, you're all probably going to be fine. Probably. To get the low-down on what ... Read More

The World’s First Earbud Headphones

Earbud headphones of yesteryear (May 1926 Science and Invention)

Yesterday Apple announced its latest and greatest in electronic toys and tools. While most tech writers thought the updates were evolutionary rather than revolutionary in nature, Apple did update one piece of hardware that hasn't really changed much (remote and mic aside) since the iPod was originally released in 2001: their iconic white earbud headphones. Apple's EarPods are said to follow three years of design research and development, breaking new ground in sound and comfort. Earbuds helped shape Apple's comeback in the early 2000s, which was defined as much by marketing as it was new ... Read More

The Sound of History: Mescaline, Music, and Terror

Pututu Microphone Preparation

A thousand years before the birth of Christ, in an Andean valley in Peru, a priest may have handed a subject a ceremonial bowlful of the juice of the San Pedro cactus. That subject would then be led down into a black and confusing labyrinth. As the mescaline filtered through the body, shadows from some unseen light would have danced on the walls: maybe heads with snakes for hair, or heads with jaguar fangs. A sound that could be rushing water—or the snarl of panthers—may fill the air. Then comes another sound that would shake the subject’s skull like a rattle. Terrified, he or she ... Read More

Bring on the Noise

Thaddeus Cahill's chair-mounted headphones

BEFORE BEATS BY DR. DRE, before the iPod’s earbuds, before even the Sony Walkman’s headphones, there was Thaddeus Cahill’s chair-mounted device for “individual-ear reproduction” of recorded sound. With radio becoming ever more popular, the New York City-based inventor thought people should be able to listen without disturbing others. He applied for a patent in 1931, catching the attention of Everyday Science and Mechanics magazine. (Published by radio pioneer and futurist Hugo Gernsback.) Personal listening devices have actually been around as long as radio itself. Radio ... Read More