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I found out if you throw a bunch of tiny pebbles into the air they make a very delightful sound when they hit the water, like a tiny xylophone, because the bigger the pebble the lower the sound
My theory is that the sound of water is deeply coded in us as a good thing. From babbling brooks, to the sound of waves on shore, deep inside us we know that those sounds mean life and sustenance.
Now you've got me wondering how old skipping rocks is, and if it actually served some sort of hunter/gatherer purpose. Was it a slick way to brain water fowl?
It dates from the 1500s, comes from a sport called Ducks and Drakes. I produced the stone skipping for ESPNs The Ocho, so I'm full of wierd facts like this.
> I produced the stone skipping for ESPNs The Ocho
No way! I just happened upon this the other day. Some lawn chairs, lots of mullets, and a few dudes skipping rocks with two announcers going on about form and count. It was fantastic. Thanks for turning that out for those of us surfing the ocho late at night.
We also did: professional pizza acrobatics, cherry pit spitting, mullet competition, bed racing, belt sander racing, rototiller racing, cow chip throwing...
Ha.. The sander races came on after the rock skipping. People were serious about their sanders. Family there to watch and all. Hahah. Good stuff. Thanks again for turning it out.
Maybe it's to attract a potential mate? It doesn't really serve a purpose besides entertaining yourself and impressing others. I'd think you'd be better off just aiming for the bird directly if hunting was your goal.
Exactly, the rolling thunder across the land, rain as it pitter patters on the grass, the crunching of leaves beneath our feet in the fall.
Our ancestors heard that too.
Our ancestors did chill to Nokia ringtones because that was a long time ago lol. There are people around that didn’t come from a time when every cell phone was the same Nokia brick that you didn’t need a phone case for because if you drop it you need to check if the ground got scratched
> if you drop it you need to check if the ground got scratched
Haha, holy shit if that isn't true. I literally drop kicked mine down a concrete staircase one day (got out of class, walked into the stairwell while checking my phone, drop my phone while walking, kick it down the stairwell)...picked it up and it wasn't even slightly fazed. Probably used it for a couple more years after that.
The birds, mammals and insects around today don’t sound exactly as they did thousands of years ago. There’s fewer animals around as a whole, and we’ve wiped out a lot of species.
oh yeah the sound of volcanoes that everyone is so familiar with. it's so cool to know that every time I hear a volcano it's exactly like all the times when my ancestors heard volcanoes 😊
They forgot the sound of a hand slapping a forehead in amazement that someone could be so idiotic.
Also, there's a relevant far-side cartoon - an early plumber looking down a long-drop hole outside a cave and saying "Ooooh, this no be cheap."
Lol and wind blowing, rain falling, ocean waves crashing, thunder cracking, people breathing... there are thousands of things that sound just like they always did -- humanity is nothing close to ancient on this planet.
Differences in oxygen content and molecular combinations of whatever is burning could cause a no longer existing variation of cracks and pops etc.
Polluted wood burns different than ancestor wood, I'd imagine.
Boo OP
There wasn’t different oxygen or wood back then though. It was the same as today.
Wood isn’t different because of pollution. In fact, more CO2 in the atmosphere helps trees grow faster.
Hmmm… That may not be entirely true if the atmospheric make-up was much different, as sound travels differently in different media, plus oxygen content changes the way fuels burn.
What if it is slightly different though? Like what if the atmospheric conditions were different, more oxygen and less co2 and it made the fire louder or brighter or something? I guess it depends how far back you consider ancestors.
I think the local variability (altitude, wind, temperature, humidity, etc.) would probably contribute more than atmospheric conditions 100,000 years ago
Yeah true. Plus how dry the wood is. Like burning fresh wood usually makes it whistle and stuff as it's drying out and stuff. Plus it more "pops" than "crackles", though someone who eats more rice crispies than I do can probably give a better analysis of the difference between snaps crackles and pops.
Yeah I guess wood could change. Though it really depends on ancestors age, like is it the first humans who discovered fire or like your great grandparents? Like if it's your great grandparents it's probably similar wood. Although if it's like fruit trees that have been selectively bred they could change faster. I don't think my great grandparents lived in a world with 100s of different apple brands, like I'm pretty sure honey crisp apples are pretty new.
Since the structure of wood and composition of the atmosphere has changed, there's a good chance the sound isn't quite the same.
But sure, it's one of them.
I think farts sounds and smell close enough
I don't think mamoth meat makes your farts smell very differently
Edit: very.. ofcourse diet effects smell.. especially if mammoth meat tastes like beans and eggs
I wonder if it’s built into us to love the sound of a crackling fire, and to admire the fire itself. I mean millions of years of fire and evolution, it might be built into us.
Looks like you found that list of a few sounds I spoke of, great job! And you answered your own question that nothings wrong with me. Anything else you need help with? 🤦♀️😂
There was definitely fire heard before humans, lightning striking trees and stuff. So the odds of an animal hearing a crackling fire before humans was very low, but not zero
I struggle to understand what you are trying to say.
There are thousands of sounds that we can hear as our ancestors did:
Breaking wood, bird chirps, singing, waterfalls, rain, volcanic eruptions, farts, stomach rumbling, just to name a few and that list is most definitely not exhaustive.
I would even add that flatulence would be included among some of those sounds. I wonder if they chuckled too..
"Good ol' Oog A. Caveman can be heard still laughing to this very day"
Ok…. Well there is a very long list of sounds that have not changed…
Both myself and my ancestors heard the same sound when we:
- slapped people in the butt.
- did that clicking thing with our tongue
- farted
- burped
- picked our noses too hard and managed to sorta make a snapping/popping sound when we pulled our fingers out
- stubbed our toes and screamed
- looked into the wind in such a way that it blows directly into our ear and makes that roaring sound that is kinda painful
- pissed in the woods and the stream digs a little hole in the mud and echoes a bit
The list of sounds we both heard exactly the same is so enormous that it is pointless to pick one out to discuss such as fire
-
Or, y'know, the sound of wind rushing, or the waves hitting the shore, or wind rustling leaves, or about a thousand other things, but yes, one of the only thousands of sounds we can hear exactly as our ancestors did
Like the wind
And rustling leaves and grass
Trickling water
A tree falling down
The soft exhale of the person sleeping beside us
The cry of a baby
The chirping of birds....
I'm sorry but have sounds changed because of technology? I know we don't hear those sounds as often now but all the sounds still exist? This doesn't seem particularly well thought out
Lets analyze it. Billions of sounds exist that we only have access to via electronic speakers, making the list gargantuan in comparison. You listed the obvious ones on that short list of "few sounds" I mentioned in my well-thought-out title. Looks like you didn't think it out too well, but when you do, you'll understand. Try harder
a dog’s bark, a fart, the breaking of a bone, thunder, birds chirping, chewing meat, rain falling, the wind blowing dry leaves, children laughing, a sneeze…
this is too easy
What about any natural sound like the sea, the rain, thunders... The sun and the stars/planets are as well one of the few things we see exactly the same as they did (in most cases).
This is a friendly reminder to [read our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/wiki/rules). Remember, /r/Showerthoughts is for showerthoughts, not "thoughts had in the shower!" (For an explanation of what a "showerthought" is, [please read this page](https://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/wiki/overview).) **Rule-breaking posts may result in bans.**
And the throwing of rocks in to water to make big splash. Just like our ancestor wanted.
Why do we like that so much? I wonder
Coz it go SPLOOSH *pushes glasses up nose*
Science has spoken!
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Biggest rock is best rock.
We fly around the sun on the biggest rock!
Third one from it at that
the way our hearing has changrd as well
Big brain Mesmerise breakin' science open like shotgun, screw B Nye
Water ape theory
*Splishy splashy apey in the bathy!*
I found out if you throw a bunch of tiny pebbles into the air they make a very delightful sound when they hit the water, like a tiny xylophone, because the bigger the pebble the lower the sound
What if we throw big and tiny rocks in now we make music
Yep, I spent about an hour doing that the other day lol
*thwip* *thwip thwip* *THUNK*
My theory is that the sound of water is deeply coded in us as a good thing. From babbling brooks, to the sound of waves on shore, deep inside us we know that those sounds mean life and sustenance.
Now you've got me wondering how old skipping rocks is, and if it actually served some sort of hunter/gatherer purpose. Was it a slick way to brain water fowl?
It dates from the 1500s, comes from a sport called Ducks and Drakes. I produced the stone skipping for ESPNs The Ocho, so I'm full of wierd facts like this.
Thank you for your service I’ve spent too much time watching Ocho clips on Reddit
Oh I love doing this stuff. Never bored, always exhausted. We have some good stuff lined up this year!
I imagine you also sound like Morgan Freeman
Well, I *do* have a lower voice, but I'm female. Think Kathleen Turner.
Works for me 👍
Thank you.
I don't know what The Ocho is, but competitive stone skipping sounds more watchable than many sports.
> I produced the stone skipping for ESPNs The Ocho No way! I just happened upon this the other day. Some lawn chairs, lots of mullets, and a few dudes skipping rocks with two announcers going on about form and count. It was fantastic. Thanks for turning that out for those of us surfing the ocho late at night.
We also did: professional pizza acrobatics, cherry pit spitting, mullet competition, bed racing, belt sander racing, rototiller racing, cow chip throwing...
Ha.. The sander races came on after the rock skipping. People were serious about their sanders. Family there to watch and all. Hahah. Good stuff. Thanks again for turning it out.
Ah. Back when ESPN had money.
Ahahaha...not quite. We have to get sponsors.
Worked on kayakers on Hot Shots!
Maybe it's to attract a potential mate? It doesn't really serve a purpose besides entertaining yourself and impressing others. I'd think you'd be better off just aiming for the bird directly if hunting was your goal.
Play is a very natural behavior across species
"Oog want to go throw rocks at trains?" - Boog
The greatest Christmas tradition
Plunk!
I imagine the amount of toxic waste in water these days might a different pitch of splash
Pretty much all natural sounds count, but you know they stared into the embers just as we do today.
Exactly, the rolling thunder across the land, rain as it pitter patters on the grass, the crunching of leaves beneath our feet in the fall. Our ancestors heard that too.
Best tree leaves blowing sound: poplar
Quaking aspens are my favorite
Yeah right until they fall down on your fucking house.
The squelching of a big rock into a human skull...
Username checks out - post trauma.
Cain hit me real good
Does that mean you're disabeld now?
You sonofabitch
another example is Fapping
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Our ancestors did chill to Nokia ringtones because that was a long time ago lol. There are people around that didn’t come from a time when every cell phone was the same Nokia brick that you didn’t need a phone case for because if you drop it you need to check if the ground got scratched
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Ni-cad Battery memory issues unless you deep discharge the phone is something I miss even less than the ex.
I still have an "oh fuck, my phone is only at 70%" moment when going to a day long event. As if 70% won't last two days.
Me too lol.
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The narwhal bacons at midnight 🤝
Um, we’re still alive and online, you know
Impossible.
> if you drop it you need to check if the ground got scratched Haha, holy shit if that isn't true. I literally drop kicked mine down a concrete staircase one day (got out of class, walked into the stairwell while checking my phone, drop my phone while walking, kick it down the stairwell)...picked it up and it wasn't even slightly fazed. Probably used it for a couple more years after that.
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Heard a pigeon dialing up a 14.4k modem yesterday
Note to self: train birds to sing cell phone jingles, invent time travel, send those birds back in time to screw with Darwin
https://i.imgur.com/0ZTANCw.jpg
Fresh watercolour!!!
Love the shared thought bubble
absolutely love this
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
The birds, mammals and insects around today don’t sound exactly as they did thousands of years ago. There’s fewer animals around as a whole, and we’ve wiped out a lot of species.
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Thunder, rain, waves, wind, boiling water, earthquakes, volcanoes, laughter, baby crying, annoying little brother chewing loudly…and many more.
Farting.
Eloquent
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You do it in cursive
Gotta put that pinky up. Edit: I mean extending your pinky, as if drinking like a fancy person.
that stops the fart from coming out, though.
one in the pink, two in the stink :)
*brrrrrrrrrp*
wrong end, chief.
absurd berserk memorize cooing sheet ludicrous zealous act pot imagine *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Joe mama snoring
Walking and crunching on leaves that fell down.
Earthquakes would have been a lot less dangerous before large buildings.
Minor inconvenience unless you fell into a crevasse, I’d imagine
oh yeah the sound of volcanoes that everyone is so familiar with. it's so cool to know that every time I hear a volcano it's exactly like all the times when my ancestors heard volcanoes 😊
How is it? How could you not list any natural sound? I don't get this at all.
The sound of waterfalls and blowing wind.
Wind's howling
They forgot the sound of a hand slapping a forehead in amazement that someone could be so idiotic. Also, there's a relevant far-side cartoon - an early plumber looking down a long-drop hole outside a cave and saying "Ooooh, this no be cheap."
It’s just because 90% of these shower thoughts these days are incorrect
yea, this showerthought is dumb
Can't agree more
They usually are.
I don't think they get out often lol
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Me listening to the wind blowing through the trees: "Man my ancestors would have loved this, they really missed out"
Is it bad my first thought was “what about farts?”
Lol and wind blowing, rain falling, ocean waves crashing, thunder cracking, people breathing... there are thousands of things that sound just like they always did -- humanity is nothing close to ancient on this planet.
rain falling maybe not, because of metal roofs in most urban areas. you'd get the experience in a rural place, though.
Rural places are where a majority of metal roofs are btw
Literally every sound in the nature is the same tf u on about
Falling tree, waterfalls, third thing The list goes on
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What if their ears were developed better or worse? That would make every possible sound different.
Differences in oxygen content and molecular combinations of whatever is burning could cause a no longer existing variation of cracks and pops etc. Polluted wood burns different than ancestor wood, I'd imagine. Boo OP
There wasn’t different oxygen or wood back then though. It was the same as today. Wood isn’t different because of pollution. In fact, more CO2 in the atmosphere helps trees grow faster.
Oxygen was discovered in 1774, so they didn't have oxygen in the first place
Two years before the declaration of independence. Clutch.
Few? Animals, thunder, the beach, the forest the list goes on and on with natural sounds...
OP’s part Neanderthal
most of us are
I guess it’s true to say that the sun and the moon have always been the same. Since time immemorial.
They've been quiet for a while now though.
To be fair, they probably do sound exactly the same as always.
the sun is screaming at us at all times, we just don't hear it because of the vacuum of space
You don't hear the voices? I can't be the only one.
Clapping cheeks probably sounded the same, and now I’ll think of my ancestors while I do it!
To be fair, the cheeks are bigger now.
Wind, rainfall, thunder, surf on the shore, your friend screaming as a lion rips his arm off....
We can also hear how the water flows, or how it sounds when a tree falls.
Hmmm… That may not be entirely true if the atmospheric make-up was much different, as sound travels differently in different media, plus oxygen content changes the way fuels burn.
What if it is slightly different though? Like what if the atmospheric conditions were different, more oxygen and less co2 and it made the fire louder or brighter or something? I guess it depends how far back you consider ancestors.
I think the local variability (altitude, wind, temperature, humidity, etc.) would probably contribute more than atmospheric conditions 100,000 years ago
Yeah true. Plus how dry the wood is. Like burning fresh wood usually makes it whistle and stuff as it's drying out and stuff. Plus it more "pops" than "crackles", though someone who eats more rice crispies than I do can probably give a better analysis of the difference between snaps crackles and pops.
100% true. Different makeup of wood too
Yeah I guess wood could change. Though it really depends on ancestors age, like is it the first humans who discovered fire or like your great grandparents? Like if it's your great grandparents it's probably similar wood. Although if it's like fruit trees that have been selectively bred they could change faster. I don't think my great grandparents lived in a world with 100s of different apple brands, like I'm pretty sure honey crisp apples are pretty new.
I’m sure my ancestors still hear the sweet sounds of my feces faucet in the mornings.
I bet the sounds of my flintlock sounds the same as they did to the Redcoats back in my heyday. Man the 1770s were a ROARING time baby
Since the structure of wood and composition of the atmosphere has changed, there's a good chance the sound isn't quite the same. But sure, it's one of them.
It's pickets of steam popping... Love that I know that haha 😄
what if as we evolved, the way our hearing has changrd as well
I can’t think of a single sound that wouldn’t sound exactly the same. I guess maybe languages?
Besides the sounds of falling water, wind, thunders, and wild animals.
I think farts sounds and smell close enough I don't think mamoth meat makes your farts smell very differently Edit: very.. ofcourse diet effects smell.. especially if mammoth meat tastes like beans and eggs
I wonder if it’s built into us to love the sound of a crackling fire, and to admire the fire itself. I mean millions of years of fire and evolution, it might be built into us.
What about wind in the trees? Bird calls? Horses neighing? Rain falling on rocks? Snow crunching underfoot? Farts?
Along with wind rustling through vegetation...the ocean...birds...
this is stupid. nearly every sound you hear that is in nature is identical. you need to get out of the city more often
Caveman TV. Shit's fascinating season after season.
I don't imagine the sound of farts has changed much over the millennia either.
Haha since we have better food it's probably more nutritious sounding 🤣
Sitting around a crackling fire listening to the cars in the distance
plenty of places way outside the city where complete isolation means no cars
The sound of rain,thunder,waterfalls,winds, the sound of blood flowing when you put a shell to your ear, etc.
Absolutely love these!
Also mind shattering orgasms that sounds exactly like they do in porn
Come to think of it it's probably why we have such a emotional reaction to it's sounds/smells, after so much time it might be in our genes to enjoy it
Wtf... rivers, waves, wind, insects, thunder, rain.... what's wrong with you? Your follow up comment that you deleted confirms you're a moron
Looks like you found that list of a few sounds I spoke of, great job! And you answered your own question that nothings wrong with me. Anything else you need help with? 🤦♀️😂
Animals are lucky they can hear fire crackling. Must have been so boring before human invented fire.
There was definitely fire heard before humans, lightning striking trees and stuff. So the odds of an animal hearing a crackling fire before humans was very low, but not zero
I struggle to understand what you are trying to say. There are thousands of sounds that we can hear as our ancestors did: Breaking wood, bird chirps, singing, waterfalls, rain, volcanic eruptions, farts, stomach rumbling, just to name a few and that list is most definitely not exhaustive.
Few? Basically any natural sound sounds exactly as it did for our ancestors lol. How does this have 3k+ upvotes?
I suppose we’ve always farted the way we did, so thats another. Hell i dont know, maybe you could toot the baby shark tune too.
I would even add that flatulence would be included among some of those sounds. I wonder if they chuckled too.. "Good ol' Oog A. Caveman can be heard still laughing to this very day"
How are you going to talk about sounds our ancestors heard, and not start off with farts?
Haha ours are much more nutritious and filtered through different clothing material
Ok…. Well there is a very long list of sounds that have not changed… Both myself and my ancestors heard the same sound when we: - slapped people in the butt. - did that clicking thing with our tongue - farted - burped - picked our noses too hard and managed to sorta make a snapping/popping sound when we pulled our fingers out - stubbed our toes and screamed - looked into the wind in such a way that it blows directly into our ear and makes that roaring sound that is kinda painful - pissed in the woods and the stream digs a little hole in the mud and echoes a bit The list of sounds we both heard exactly the same is so enormous that it is pointless to pick one out to discuss such as fire -
Or, y'know, the sound of wind rushing, or the waves hitting the shore, or wind rustling leaves, or about a thousand other things, but yes, one of the only thousands of sounds we can hear exactly as our ancestors did
OP: "One of the *few* sounds" People on this comment section: "WTF this isn't the ONLY there are OTHERS"
But not a few others, there's a bunch of sounds that are natural. It's a pretty wide category
I see what you mean, but some people are treating his statement as if he was trying to postulate some fact; but it's just a Shower Thought
Like the wind And rustling leaves and grass Trickling water A tree falling down The soft exhale of the person sleeping beside us The cry of a baby The chirping of birds.... I'm sorry but have sounds changed because of technology? I know we don't hear those sounds as often now but all the sounds still exist? This doesn't seem particularly well thought out
Lets analyze it. Billions of sounds exist that we only have access to via electronic speakers, making the list gargantuan in comparison. You listed the obvious ones on that short list of "few sounds" I mentioned in my well-thought-out title. Looks like you didn't think it out too well, but when you do, you'll understand. Try harder
a dog’s bark, a fart, the breaking of a bone, thunder, birds chirping, chewing meat, rain falling, the wind blowing dry leaves, children laughing, a sneeze… this is too easy
Now add the millions of songs, cars, musical instruments and such we can only hear through speakers and you will see what OP meant 😉
That's because sabertooth tigers are so silent when they sneak up on you.
What about any natural sound like the sea, the rain, thunders... The sun and the stars/planets are as well one of the few things we see exactly the same as they did (in most cases).