Well, this is a bit odd.
Hidden in a nondescript storage facility in Sechelt is a black rectangular box made of mild steel that can comfortably fit one person. The purpose of the box is to completely block all electromagnetic radiation. On Monday, Jan. 15, the box was transported to Porpoise Bay Campground where Brianna Deutsch, producer of the popular U.S. newsmagazine show Inside Edition, became the second known person to step inside and descend into darkness.
鈥淚t looks like a coffin,鈥� said Deutsch of the experience. 鈥淭hankfully I鈥檓 not claustrophobic so I wasn鈥檛 afraid.鈥�
Deutsch visited the Sunshine Coast on Monday to shoot scenes for an upcoming episode featuring researcher and Elphinstone Secondary teacher Glen MacPherson and his investigation into what has come to be known as the Worldwide Hum.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing a segment on stranger things that people don鈥檛 have an answer to. Is it supernatural? Is it an audio frequency?鈥� Deutsch said. 鈥淲e knew that Dr. Glen is researching it and had this box and so we decided to demonstrate it and test it out.鈥�
The Hum is described as a persistent low-frequency noise similar to an idling vehicle and it is usually only heard at night. MacPherson first noticed it in 2012 and has been working ever since to establish its cause and a way to stop it. He created an online database that invites people to answer a short survey and identify on a map where they hear the Hum. So far, more than 17,000 people have attested to hearing the unexplained phenomenon via his website, www.thehum.info.
Through this website and media coverage by Al Jazeera, C小蓝视频, Global News and local outlets, MacPherson is now recognized as a leading expert on the topic.
He built the coffin-like Deming box to test the hypothesis that the Hum is caused by very low frequency (VLF) radio waves emitted by military and navel transmitters. The box is designed to block all radio frequencies, but it was unable to block the Hum. 鈥淲hen I entered the box a year ago August, I noticed absolutely no change in my perception of the Hum, which for me anyway, cast some serious doubt on that theory,鈥� said MacPherson.
He is now working on a hypothesis that the Hum is similar to tinnitus: a high-pitched ringing in the ears that tends only to be heard by the person afflicted and cannot be tested by a doctor.
MacPherson鈥檚 hope is that media exposure will encourage public figures to come forward as Hum hearers and that the phenomenon be researched at an accredited laboratory. 鈥淭he one thing that propels me more than anything else are the large number of people who write to me, some of whom have reported having tears in their eyes, because they realize they鈥檙e not crazy.鈥�
The segment will likely air within the month and also can be viewed on Inside Edition鈥檚 website. The television show is owned by CBS and has an audience of five million.
