Taos Hum

The Taos Hum
In 1977, a British newspaper received nearly 800 letters from people complaining of loss of sleep, dizziness, shortness of breath, headaches, anxiety, irritability, deteriorating health,inability to read or study because of the incessant hum.
Most famous in the U.S. is the "Taos Hum". There the annoyance was so acute for the "hearers" in Taos, New Mexico that they banded together in1993 and petitioned Congress to investigate and help them find the source of the noise. No conclusive causes were discovered. One prevailing theory holds that the hum is created by a militarycommunications system used to contact submarines.
Most hearers say the noise begins abruptly, never abates, interferes with sleep and is more noticeable inside a house or car than outside. Some describe itas sounding like a diesel engine idling in the distance.
Since it has proven undetectable by microphones or VLF antennae, its source and nature is still a mystery.
In 1997 Congress directed scientistsand observers from some of the most prestigious research institutes in the nation to look into a strange low frequency noise heard by residents in and around the small town of Taos, New Mexico. Foryears those who had heard the noise, often described by them as a "hum", had been looking for answers. No one was sure when it began, but its persistence led first a few and then many of those who heardit (called "hearers" by each other) to band together. In 1993 they found their way to Congress.
The investigation Congress requested consisted of a team of a dozen investigators from a number ofscientific institutions. Joe Mullins of the University of New Mexico and Horace Poteet of Sandia National Laboratories wrote the team's final report. Other New Mexico research organizations involvedincluded Phillips Air Force Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Concern by hearers that the hum might have been caused by the Department of Defense ensured that the investigation was...