Is loud, industrial noise from underwater drilling affecting these pups? Scientists are on the case.
A team of scientists recently trained seal pups to execute a series of hearing tests — not unlike the ones you used to take in school.
Instead of raising their hand (or flippers, as it were) to indicate which side the noise is on, the seals are taught to tap a target with their nose when they hear a specific sound. If they get it right, they're rewarded with a delicious fish snack (unlike my doctor, who just scolds me for the umpteenth time about the importance of wearing earplugs at band practice.)
That's kind of what this pup is doing right here:
The seal hears the noise, taps the target (right) with its nose, and receives a delicious fish snack for its troubles. Image via Pinniped Cognition and Sensory Systems Laboratory.
They're trying to find a baseline understanding of just how well seals can hear underwater so they can understand how loud noises in the oceans might affect seal populations in the wild.
And what they found is that seals have pretty good hearing, particularly underwater — and especially at lower frequencies.
The seals' sensitivity toward deep bass tones is unsurprising. If you've ever gone swimming while there's loud music playing, or even a speaker system in the pool, you know that underwater acoustics tend to amplify and emphasize the deep, long waveforms of low bass notes.
This could also explain why "Kiss From a Rose" sounds better with a sick subwoofer system.
Get it? Seal? Like the singer? Ugh, never mind. GIF from "The Voice."
But you know what else gets even louder underwater? Industrial drilling.
I'm sure we can all share our own frustrating anecdotes of the constant thrumming from a nearby construction site making it almost impossible to work or sleep or just enjoy your life.
And if you thought that was annoying, well...
Welcome to life in the Arctic Circle.
Here, the low, low frequencies of mechanical oil drilling resonate through the waters and interrupt the lives of seals, whales, walruses, and countless other aquatic animals.
Those sounds aren't just loud and annoying; a lot of Arctic animals depend on their ability to communicate underwater. It's how they talk to each other. It's how they find food and fend off enemy attacks.
Could you imagine dealing with those loud construction sounds every single day no matter where you went? Yeah. It just might start to get to you after a while.
"How come it's so loud when there's no else around?!" Photo via NOAA/Wikimedia Commons.
Prolonged exposure to these sounds can lead to permanent deafness long after the drilling is done.
And it's not just drilling either. There are helicopters and exploding sea ice and fracking and seismic surveying and so on. All those sounds can travel for miles and miles across the ocean floor — that's why whales sing their songs the way they do.
While most of the evidence is currently anecdotal, researchers such as those at the Pinniped Laboratory above are actively gathering data in order to better predict the specific effects of this kind of acoustic violence seals and other marine life experience.
"Hi, yeah, I live upstairs, and I was just wondering — do you mind turning the massive industrial flotillas down? Some of us have to work in the morning." Photo by Andreas Trepte/Wikimedia Commons.
But even without the confirmed findings, it's clear that noise pollution is having a definite effect on underwater environments and the animals that live in them.
For example, have you ever heard the story of the world's loneliest whale? There's a whale named Alice, who made headlines earlier this year because she sings at an abnormally high frequency (for a whale). As a result, the other whales can't communicate with her, and she's spent the last 20 years swimming all alone and waiting for another whale to sing back to her.
That could easily be the future for every aquatic Arctic animal unless we humans step in and take action. (Unless they're eaten by a predator before the sadness sets in because they can't hear anything around them. But that's like even more bleak, so just forget I said anything.)
So you can see, the impacts of Arctic drilling extend far, far beyond the oil industry.
If we're not going to pay attention to climate change, then the least we can do is pay attention to the sensory experience of the animals that are already fighting everyday to survive. So let's tell President Obama to stop the rush to expand offshore drilling, which will cut down on noise pollution and ensure a safer future for animals and humans alike.
It might be too late for me to save my ears from that wretched rock 'n' roll music, but it's not too late for the pinnipeds (underwater carnivorous mammals).
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Not just coworkers—family, friends, strangers, kids…
Imagine having to go so badly but being out of euros. 
Anything hobbit-esque can't be wrong. 
But what if you need pain meds AND mascara?!
Imagine how this would affect childcare.
Honestly…where's the lie?
A brown buddha statue sits near a green mountain. Photo by 
Urgent dash to the bathroom! 🚪🏃♂️
Ladybug unexpectedly found during colonoscopyPhoto credit: 
Close-up of bottom of ladybug found in colonPhoto credit: 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."