Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada. On one night in early 2012, Windsor received 22,000 complaint calls. These phone calls reflect one thing,These people all heard a very strange sound that was inaudible but buzzed like a motor that bothered them.

In fact, this is not the first time such a complaint has been received.

As early as 2011, some people reported this disturbing "buzzing sound". Sometimes it was loud, sometimes it was small, and the duration and intensity varied.

This bass noise has been affecting local residents, who described the sound as:

"The intermittent buzzing sound is different from the high-decibel traffic noise. It seems to be a kind of vibration noise. It is not easy to detect during the day, but when you sleep at night, you can hear it very clearly, which makes people stay up all night!"

It is unimaginable that this noise has been going on for some time,Many residents suffered from severe headaches, lack of sleep, neurasthenia, depression, rage and other symptoms, and those who were unbearable have moved out of the city.

Since not everyone can hear this kind of noise, the City of Windsor did not pay attention to it at first. However, after receiving more than 20,000 complaint calls, a research team was immediately set up to investigate the source of the noise.

However, even after hiring a professional team, it actually took "Windsor Buzz" nearly ten years to completely solve the problem, which also involved an American company.

The noise in the past ten years is actually related to the United States on the other side of the Taiwan Strait

When the noise first appeared, there were overwhelming complaints, but since the source of the noise could never be found, rumors of an "American conspiracy" spread.

A well-known local TV host boldly speculated on his show that the noise was an "American conspiracy." They established a secret research institute in the Canadian border area to study weather control projects, and the noise came from here.

Although it sounds a bit absurd, there is no smoke without fire.

When the noise research team was first established, it was suspected that the noise came from Zug Island on the opposite coast of Canada.

Zug Island is located south of Detroit, Michigan, USA, across the river from Windsor, Canada. This is a highly industrialized island.

As early as 1901, the Detroit Steel Works brought its ironmaking business to Zug Island and put a blast furnace into operation in 1902.

By 1904, the plant was purchased by the MAHanna Company, which built a second blast furnace in 1909. According to reports, the two blast furnaces on the island were the largest of their kind at the time.

In the following decades, the steel plant was taken over by the state and then acquired by private companies. The final operator was the United States Steel Corporation.

As an industrial area, the environment here is a mess.

According to an article published by the Detroit Free Press on January 20, 2010:There are six of the most polluted communities around the area (there are only 10 in the entire state of Michigan), with toxic substances such as lead exceeding standards and emitting a foul odor.

Since American companies are involved, if you want to investigate Humong, you must negotiate with the United States.

The first low-frequency noise survey was conducted by a professional organization commissioned by the Province of Ontario, Canada. At that time, the survey team hoped to go to Zug Island for on-site measurements, but the United States refused the survey team entry on the grounds that it was a "private unit."

So the Canadian government began to negotiate with the United States, hoping that the United States would cooperate. Under a lot of pressure, the United States had to cooperate with the investigation.

At that time, the United States claimed that it had spent at least 1 million Canadian dollars to help Windsor and Ontario find the source of the noise.

However, their conclusion was:The source of the buzz has still not been determined, but it may be coming from the island's steel mill facility.

When the Canadian side hoped to focus on investigating the facilities of the steel plant, the US state of Michigan refused, saying that it had already spent 1 million Canadian dollars and had no funds for further inspections.

Obviously, there are differences between the two parties on the issue of who should pay for the testing fees.

According to American thinking, it is clear that noise does not affect us, but we are asked to pay for testing and pay for the interests of others. We no longer want to be taken advantage of.

According to Canada, you not only want money but also invest in investigating and solving the problem, because it is your fault that caused us to be disturbed by the noise.

In this way, the whole incident came to an end after many attempts to push the blame.

Everyone knows that the problem lies with the steel mill, but the U.S. government is unwilling to issue a formal and public test report and does not want to take care of it. The steel mill does not admit it and will not make corrections, and the Canadian side has no legitimate reason for wanting to deal with it.

In the end, it was the residents of Windsor who suffered. Until 2020, the factory on Zug Island suffered serious losses due to the epidemic, and finally stopped operating in April, and the buzz stopped.

The decade-long problem with low-frequency noise is finally over!

In May of the same year, the company was fined $79,227 and required to pay an additional $300,000 to improve the local environment.

This result was completely in line with everyone’s guesses, but it took nearly ten years. I wonder who should bear the losses suffered by Windsor residents caused by noise in the past ten years?

at last

Generally speaking, human ears can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz, and the low-frequency noise detected this time basically does not exceed 30 Hz.

If you are sensitive to low-frequency sounds, this buzzing sound is one of the most torturous sounds. It's not easy to detect, not heard by many people, and when you raise an objection, you'll be considered an outlier by those around you.

But you're not alone, as up to 4% of the world's population is said to hear this strange bass noise.

Low-frequency noise effects like those in Canada occur in many places and are named after place names + buzz, such as Taos buzz and Auckland buzz.

Recently, a disturbing buzzing sound also appeared in a small town in Northern Ireland. There are many theories about this noise, but the most credible one at present is that it comes from industrial facilities.

Don’t think that this kind of low-frequency noise pollution is far away from our lives. A casual search on the Internet will bring up a lot of news about noise problems, all kinds and diverse.

It may be from the water pump room on the first floor, it may be vibration from the outdoor air conditioner on the roof, or it may be construction at a nearby construction site.

However, there are more mysterious noises coming from nowhere.

When I was typing, I could always hear a sound, an uninterrupted buzz... It lasted for 1 minute and then disappeared, and repeated after more than ten minutes.

I don't know what the sound is and I don't know how to solve the problem, so my head is huge!

I can only convince myself to adapt, and at the same time tell myself that this is just a side effect of urban life.