The Taos Hum
No one really knows when or why the hum began. But, approximately 30 years ago, the residents in Taos, New Mexico noticed the constant high frequency humming noises in their town. What are they? Why has it been heard for over three decades? And what is causing them?
First..what is the hum? It is typically described as a low-frequency humming sound. Also, not every person in Taos can hear this. In fact, according to Joe Mullins, a professor emeritus of engineering at the University of New Mexico, his study found that only about 2% of people can actively hear the hum. Those who can hear it often describe it as sounding like the music note e-flat, while others compare it to a distant idling diesel truck.
In 1993, in one of the first official studies, the University of New Mexico sent a group of researchers to Taos to get to the bottom of the hum. The group traveled to Taos and collected noise data from different sites, and their findings were published in the journal of the Acoustical Society of America. They also included interviews with those who could hear the hum.
Long story short, the hum was not detectable on their microphones or VLF antennae. Because it is unable to be recorded, some believe that this means it is not a man-made sound. Other theories include that it may be caused by random shifting wind patterns emanating from the Rio Grand Canyon.
But the reasoning behind the hum may be something else. Giovanni Maria Agostini Justiniani was a known holy man and traveler in the mid-1800s. He stayed in the mountains and wrote in his journal about the singing waters of the sacred mountain. Could the mountains be the source of the hum? Perhaps the tone just settles from El Salto when it reaches Taos?
Some who hear it don’t say they are annoyed but rather blessed or even comforted by it. However, others don’t hear that and instead hear a low, incessant buzzing. Some also report that they don’t believe it is a natural phenomena because of its random starts and stops.
Of course, others believe it to have more paranormal roots such as underground UFO bases or even a high frequency of ghosts whose energy is huge.
Thank you to Rick W. for today’s blogstonishing suggestion!
The blog image depicts Rio Grande Gorge - Taos, New Mexico, View from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos, New Mexico Location: Taos by Laszlo Ilyes. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
