In order to test equipment and work on voice recognition projects, Microsoft needed to build an incredibly quiet anechoic chamber on its campus in Redmond, Washington. It turned out the room they made was so quiet it shattered a world record.
Guinness has verified that the chamber, which is lined with wedge-shaped sound absorbers, reaches -20.3 decibels, an amazing feat considering the fact that when air molecules bounce off of each other, the noise barely registers -23 decibels. The chamber is in Building 87, but it's far away from the other rooms in order to keep vibrations out. The previous record of -13 decibels was set at Orfield Laboratories in Minneapolis, NBC News reports. Catherine Garcia
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31Speed Read Kirk was holding a debate session at Utah Valley University
-
September 11 editorial cartoonsCartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include AI in schools, a deflated jobs report, and a new addition to Mount Rushmore
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
