Laurel or Yanny? Bizarre debate takes over social media

First it was the blue or gold dress that divided the internet, and now a fresh mystery has emerged, sparking a fierce online debate. So do you hear “Laurel” or “Yanny”?

A four-second audio clip featuring a computer-generated voice was shared on social media by a group of students, simply repeating one word.

However, it immediately got a mixed response as some people claim to hear “Yanny”, while others swear it says “Laurel”. Celebrities, TV stars and well-known names across the world have even offered their voice to the row, as they share their choices on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

What do you hear?! Yanny or Laurel pic.twitter.com/jvHhCbMc8I

— Cloe Feldman (@CloeCouture) May 15, 2018

US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres admitted staff on her show even stopped filming to take a moment to join the debate. She wrote on Twitter: “Literally everything at my show just stopped to see if people hear Laurel or Yanny. I hear Laurel.”

Model and US star Chrissy Teigen added: “It’s so clearly laurel. I can’t even figure out how one would hear yanny,” while author Stephen King wrote: “It’s Yanny,” before joking: “Goddam. Now I’m hearing Laurel.”

It’s Yanny.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 16, 2018

Goddam. Now I’m hearing Laurel.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 16, 2018

Many more claimed they heard one word at one time, then another on a different occasion – appearing to signal it can change depending on your surroundings or sound device.

Sure enough, the ABC reports it is affected by your hearing. The site claims, particularly as we get older, we start to lose our hearing at higher frequency ranges. When recorded, “Yanny” is created by acoustic information which is at a higher frequency than “Laurel”.

“The input can be organised in two alternative ways,” Maastricht University professor Lars Riecke added to The Verge. He claims if the pitch is shifted, to hear more of either the higher or lower frequencies, people should be able to hear both words.

Read more: Science explains the colour of ‘the dress’

Of course, that can take some work, and Riecke reportedly added that it could be as simple as changing listening devices, as each will air a different frequency. While you may hear one word from your TV, you may get another when you hear it over the radio.

Since the clip went viral, the students responsible have solved the mystery – and the winners, it seems, are the ‘Laurel’ team.

Student Katie Hetzel spoke to Wired and confirmed she had recorded the voice from a vocabulary site for a school project. Her friends, struggling to decide what it said, shared it on social media – and it spread from there.

She confirmed that the clip features an opera singer with good diction speaking the word aloud, and she’s saying “Laurel” all along.

So, did you hear Laurel or Yanny?