From 2500 BC through the middle ages to the Victorian era
Walter Alfredo Montano loves researching stories about the history of noise and its effect on people. The Argentinian-born, Peruvian-based acoustician joined us at Soundproofist to share some of his discoveries.
We talked about some of the earliest-known noise complaints (and anti-noise advocates) in history. And we look at some past remedies that people tried, including patents and ideas. Some ideas were ahead of their time, some weren’t so successful, and some remedies even seem absurd.
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From mythology to monks to musicians, you’re sure to learn something from this entertaining and informative episode.
Learn more:
- “The first international anti-noise conventions and congresses: 1895-1912”, by Walter Alfredo Montano (published in Noise News International)
- “Making Noise: From Babel to the Big Bang and Beyond”, by Hillel Schwartz. Another book about the history of noise.
- “The Soundscape of Modernity: Architectural Acoustics and the Culture of Listening in America, 1900-1933”, by Emily Thompson
- The Epic of Gilgamesh – Wikipedia
- Soundproofist: The London Street Noise Project
A brief history of noise activism