News

In a world-first, research from the University of Salford has used the internet to measure over a million people's responses to 'horrible sounds' and discovered that vomiting is the sound people find most disgusting.

Professor Trevor Cox of the School of Computing, Science & Engineering conducted the research over a year by inviting people to rate 34 sounds on his Bad Vibes website.

Some of the worst sounds included:

• Vomiting
• Tasmanian devil (Courier Mail)
• Whoopie cushion

The sound of vomiting was re-created using an actor and baked beans falling from a can, and participants could also rate sounds including the dreaded dentist's drill, a Tasmanian Devil's howl and crying babies.

Trevor's findings have been reported around the world and he is now going to use the results to inform developments within the acoustics industry.

He said: "I am driven by a scientific curiosity about why people shudder at certain sounds and not others. We are pre-programmed to be repulsed by horrible things such as vomiting, as it is fundamental to staying alive to avoid nasty stuff."

Teaching at Salford greatly benefits from real-world research like Trevor's. It helps the University to deliver knowledge which is at the cutting edge of its field and means our graduates have the skills and experience they need to succeed.

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Contact the press team on +44 (0)161 295 5361 or email press-office@salford.ac.uk