Ongoing History Daily: Killing mice with speed–and music.

Remember the Ramones movie Rock ‘n’ Roll High School from 1979?  Part of the plot included mice that exploded when exposed to loud punk rock.  That may not have been far from the truth. 

Scientists at Cambridge University conducted an experiment.  They jacked up a bunch of mice on amphetamines and then exposed them to two types of music.  First, the mice heard Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor at a very high volume.  Out of forty mice, four keeled over and died. 

However, when another group was exposed to high-energy electronic dance music from the Prodigy, seven out of forty died.  So was it the music or the speed that killed them?  It was the drugs.  Mice injected with salt water were fine.  Those injected with speed suffered brain damage and some even died. 

The conclusion?  Loud music strengthens the effects of amphetamines.