The Acoustics of Miniskirts
October 1969: UCLA Professor Vern O. Knudsen assembled ten young women wearing miniskirts in a reverberation chamber and fired a blank cartridge from a pistol. He did this to prove his hypothesis that bare legs revealed by a miniskirt will reflect more sound than legs covered by a long skirt.
His hypothesis confirmed, he warned that miniskirt wearers might disturb the carefully engineered balance of sound in concert halls by reflecting more sound. He noted: "We must be acoustically thankful that they don't wear bikinis."
Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time a scientist had warned of the acoustic danger of short skirts. Back in 1929, Colgate University Professor Donald A. Laird had issued a very similar warning: "He quoted scientific reports to prove that shortening of women's skirts has added to noise by removing some sound deadening surface."
Related posts: Miniskirts for road safety, Nun in a miniskirt
His hypothesis confirmed, he warned that miniskirt wearers might disturb the carefully engineered balance of sound in concert halls by reflecting more sound. He noted: "We must be acoustically thankful that they don't wear bikinis."
Rock Island Argus - Oct 29, 1969
Orangeburg Times and Democrat - Oct 29, 1969
Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time a scientist had warned of the acoustic danger of short skirts. Back in 1929, Colgate University Professor Donald A. Laird had issued a very similar warning: "He quoted scientific reports to prove that shortening of women's skirts has added to noise by removing some sound deadening surface."
San Bernardino County Sun - July 4, 1929
Related posts: Miniskirts for road safety, Nun in a miniskirt
Comments
This has Ig Nobel Prize in physics written all over it.
Posted by Virtual in Carnate on 11/03/22 at 06:10 AM
“We must study these young ladies in miniskirts very carefully…”
Posted by Brian on 11/03/22 at 08:57 AM
I worked on a sound mixer board in a church I attended and you would be surprised at the difference between an empty hall rehearsal and a full hall performance. People absorb sound waves to the level that I had to boost the amplification by a good 5 percent.
Posted by KDP on 11/03/22 at 09:09 AM
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Category: Fashion | Science | Experiments | 1960s | Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults