There's also this property of life where if you're the one doing something annoying, it's not irritating to you but it will drive everyone else batshit. Thus, it's not a problem if you can still hear it. ;)

Hmm.. sounds like the entirely despicable Mosquito.

Shaky ground here Instructables..

I'm 30 and can hear just fine up to 22KHz, thankyouverymuch. You put one of these near me, and you might find it forcibly disassembled the next time you look.

I'm 31 and still hear these things just fine, despite having abused my hearing on occasion. No one over 40 in my office could hear an 18 kHz tone when I fired up a function generator on the PC, but then we only had about 4 people, not much of a sample set.

This is actually one of the reasons I'm so happy that flat panel displays are common now. Some old monitors used to drive me nuts with that high-frequency whine. If you turned one of these gadgets on in the room, I'd probably just assume there was a TV or monitor someplace that I couldn't find

So he basically made a smaller version of my smoke alarm with the low battery that fits in a computer?

that shit is like chinese water torture.

therefore i approve of dis shiny device.

@arkizzle, #2: yes, exactly like the Mosquito, which BB has covered before and which Liberty are campaigning against as a breach of human rights.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee












eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

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HOWTO: Build your own child torture device.
Bonus: Works on babies too!

A directory of wonderful things, indeed.

Sneakier than the air horn bomb (i.e. duct-tape the trigger and throw).

Yeah, this is a horror. I don't mind seeing it blogged here (and so what if I did), but Instructables should not have this up.

If someone built a torture device that only worked on African-Americans, would Instructables post it? Why should people under 25 be fair game.

Appalling.

Have you seen the Annoy-a-tron? http://without-warning.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-final-act-of-defiance.html

I posted a comment to much the same effect at Instructables. I'll probably be banned for it, since their moderation policy is that you have to be "positive," and I told them they shouldn't even tell people how to build this.

I'm 40, and sure enough, when I found out the Mosquito, I tested the frequency on my spouse (also 40) and my daughter (16). As predicted, the young'un could hear it, us grownups could not.

I also allowed my daughter to order an Annoy-a-tron from ThinkGeek this past April Fool's day. Her friends were highly ammused. She did, however, try and use it on me at one point.

I forsee revenge in the near future.

Speaking as someone with perfectly sensitive high frequency hearing, if I ever find one of these devices in my airspace, it will be destroyed with prejudice. If I find the person responsible, a lot of perfectly audible yelling will ensue, and I may or may not throw a shoe at them.

I have no idea what frequency range I can hear to, but the audiologist said that I'm up there with six and seven year olds for high range sensitivity.

Some TV tubes drive me right up the wall. Our humidifier apparently makes a high-pitched whine when it's less than half full. I can usually hear when a small electric motor is failing before other people do. And it's all torture. :P

Seriously, the Mosquito was one justified use of that "Won't somebody think of the chiiiiildruuuun!?" line.

I like what the name implies better, a speaker you can hide that says "nevermore" at random intervals but only annoys distraught lovers.

Xopher "If someone built a torture device that only worked on African-Americans, would Instructables post it?"
Do they have articles on Nascar? Honky-tonk Country music? The Winter Olympics?

It's all about application. The same basic circuit is running vermin out of countless spaces that otherwise would need deadly methods. Thence we move up the food chain to domestic pet protections. I have prevented several cats from being made homeless with motion triggered area deterrents.
Kitty soon learns the no go zones and life stays good.

Using such audio bombs for "Gaslighting" PsyOps risks such things crossing from harmless seeming prank to sincere life altering misery. And when some stunt like this goes awry? As in the victim loses sleep for an extended time. What then if someone outs the perp who placed it? Oh -say for incessant bragging?

Ah, we could call the planting of these toys attempting suicide?

I'm 35 and I'm still very sensitive to high-pitched sounds AND ultrasounds. As a matter of fact, I can perfectly hear bats' screams. Most CRT monitors and TVs drive me nuts. Even LCD TV's power supplies sometimes produce those sounds.

If I ever find out one of those devices, I'll make sure to test what kind of high-pitched noise the perpetrator will emit when I'll do something nasty to their scrotum.

Addendum:

This device also useful for the identification of Internet Tough Guys.

I used to have very good high-frequency hearing, which means I could always tell if a student left a monitor on in the computer lab (and often pinpoint the particular monitor, or at least its general area). That was before the days of power-saving mode -- the lab in question was equipped with Apple II computers(*).

Unfortunately, this super-power came at a price: I could distinctly hear a high-pitched whistle coming from most refrigerators, probably something to do with the coolant traveling in the pipes under pressure. That drove me nuts when I was a student living in a small apartment, since my bed was close to the kitchen and the fridge actually woke me up at night. I eventually solved the problem by judicious use of a 4x8 of soundproofing material.

(*) Those of you who used Apple II in the past, remember _Electric Duet_ by Paul Lutus, a program that played two-voice music by modulating a 15 kHz wave? Great hack, but I always wished the carrier frequency could have been higher.

@Xopher, #10&12: You left a relatively polite and respectful statement of your feelings, so your Instructables comment (and account) remain intact.

@Modusoperandi, #16: Those first two annoy me, and I'm pasty white.

If only I had one of these back in college.

Canida 21 reyrct me: thanks. The statement of the "Be nice" policy sounded like being polite and respectful wouldn't be enough, but it's nice to know that I misunderstood it.

reyrct Modus: me too. If someone wanted a Keep Xophers Away device, a video screen showing NASCAR would accomplish that neatly. And I too am among the European-descended slug-pale brethren.

Hrm. Sounds like a wonderful device for cheating on tests. If there isn't enough of a frequency band to modulate a voice, you could always work out some simple code to tell everyone what the answer is.

I want a portable one to take to the movie theater with me. Damned kids never shut up! Talk talk talk--text text text all through the movie!

canida "@Modusoperandi, #16: Those first two annoy me, and I'm pasty white."
Xopher "reyrct Modus: me too. If someone wanted a Keep Xophers Away device, a video screen showing NASCAR would accomplish that neatly. And I too am among the European-descended slug-pale brethren."
I've double-checked my math. My theory is perfect. This means that you're both secretly black, as am I. Don't deny it. Let it out. Be proud. Don't drive at night in Texas (you'll get pulled over for "matching the description").

As stated, but agreeing for emphasis:
These things are terrible.

" Some crafty students decided to convert the same technology into a ring tone that only they (teenagers) could hear! By utilizing this free ringtone, you can get phone calls and receive text messages while in class or school without teachers knowing it."

#28: The teacher might not hear the sound, but they will notice everyone else in the class turning round to see the source, and the owner of the phone looking down at their phone.

This is so cruel to those of us who can hear these tones.

When I was in college, I had a class in a lecture hall with a video projector that would emit a high pitched tone when it was in standby mode. If the projector was in use, no problem. If it was shut down, no problem. But if it was in standby, it would shriek at around 20khz or so.

On more than one occasion I had to ask the professor to shut it down, because I couldn't bear to stay in the room if it kept going (it was really, really unpleasant). There was only one other student in a class of close to 100 who could hear it. Everyone else thought I was crazy (what else is new).

It's so nice to see that my super-human hearing isn't unique.

A CRT powered-up without a signal drives me up the wall. And those damn rodent-deterrent plug-in thingies really drive me nuts. And yes!! Someone else who hears the GD screamin' video projector!! I'm almost 40 and a hearing test resulted in the technologist drawing a new graph because the standard test range wasn't wide enough.

If I ever run across one of these things or a mosquito-like device it's gonna be dispatched with extreme prejudice.

Then I'm going to find out who installed it and whack him on the side of his head with a velour-covered cricket-bat for as long as I was subjected to the torture then ask him if he feels annoyed.

(Unfortunately, my super-powers end with hearing. The breathing water thing really isn't all that useful.)

as a sufferer of Tinnitus, I have one of these built into my head.

Now, if this device could be used to emit spooky half-audible whispers at random intervals (preferrably with some sort of solar cell/light sensor so it only triggered after dark) then that would be awesome!

I have no qualms about fucking with people's minds, but leave their poor ears alone.

Guvnor, you're brilliant! Wow, I really like that idea.

When I become fabulously wealthy and build my spooky mansion on the hill with the secret staircases and moving panels and all that stuff, I'm going to have those all over the place...especially in the guest rooms!

YOU WHAT? WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY SONNY?

Years of Hard Rock and Techno Dance Music have probably dulled my hearing.

I'm all for torturing the youth with high pitched whines and other aural junk. They have no qualms about torturing me with that stuff they call music now-a-days.

Bloody kids, when I was their age...

Mumblemumblemumble

NURSE! WHAT ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE DOING IN MY ROOM?

You're not my son.

*Goes back to listening to 'Motorhead' with a smile on his face*

You are not limited to torturing children and the young of hearing. You can torture pets as well ...