Ongoing History Daily: Music of the flies
It’s summertime, which means you’ve probably had flies buzzing around your head at some point. Here’s something that will change the way you listen to flies.
Entomologists tell us that the buzz of a fly is caused by the flapping of their wings. They also tell us that a fly beats its wings at 190 beats per minute. Regardless of the size of the fly, they all beat their wings at that same 190 times per minute. Smaller wings and smaller flies produce higher pitches. Bigger wings on bigger flies produce lower pitches. What they all have in common is that this pitch is in the key of F.
If you have a bunch of flies swarming around your head, they’re all in concert, playing an F at different pitches. Now you won’t hear the sound of a fly in the same way ever again. You’re welcome.
Friday’s Ongoing History Daily post was about a very weird U2-related lawsuit.