WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Leaf Blowers So Annoying?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's episode is a classic from

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<v Speaker 1>our archives. It was, in fact, the first brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>episode I ever recorded back in which feels like it

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<v Speaker 1>was about thirty two years ago. I wanted to run

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<v Speaker 1>this one again because with fall upon us here in

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<v Speaker 1>the Northern Hemisphere and the trees starting to change colors

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<v Speaker 1>and shed their leaves, one of our greatest enemies has

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<v Speaker 1>re emerged. The leaf blower. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bomb.

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<v Speaker 1>Here ah the sounds of autumn, the satisfying crunch of

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<v Speaker 1>a crisp apple or fallen leaves under your feet, or

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<v Speaker 1>the teeth grinding noise of a leaf blower powered by

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<v Speaker 1>electric or gasoline motors that propel air out of a

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<v Speaker 1>nozzle to send leaves and grass cuttings. Flying leafblowers are

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<v Speaker 1>probably the most villainized devices in the lawn care universe

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<v Speaker 1>due to the noise that they admit. In the midnightteen seventies,

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<v Speaker 1>when leaf blowers became ubiquitous in the United dates to California,

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<v Speaker 1>cities adopted early bands of the equipment, Carmel by the

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<v Speaker 1>Sea and Beverly Hills labeled the leaf blowers a noise

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<v Speaker 1>nuisance and banned their use, a move that has been

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<v Speaker 1>followed by hundreds of other cities across the United States

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<v Speaker 1>to some degree. But what is it about leaf blowers

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<v Speaker 1>that people hate is that the decibels, the constancy de

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<v Speaker 1>leaf blowers pose real dangers to the health of users

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<v Speaker 1>or others who happen to be with an ear shot. Increasingly,

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<v Speaker 1>the answer appears to be yes to all of the above.

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<v Speaker 1>Leafblowers may send leaves and long clippings for a ride,

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<v Speaker 1>but the gusts, which reach a hundred and eighty two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred eighty miles per hour that's about two d four

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, also create a nose

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<v Speaker 1>clogging swirl of fungis, spores, herbicides, and microbes. The resulting

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<v Speaker 1>dust is so aggravating to people with allergies, asthma, bronchitis,

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<v Speaker 1>and other respiratory maladies that the American Lung Association recommends

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<v Speaker 1>staying away from leaf blowers altogether. And then there's the

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<v Speaker 1>air pollution. Operating a commercial leaflower for one hour and

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<v Speaker 1>it's as much smog forming pollution as you would if

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<v Speaker 1>you drove a recent midsize car, as say Toyota Camera

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<v Speaker 1>from Los Angeles to Denver, which is about a one thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred mile or one eight hundred kilometer trip. That's

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<v Speaker 1>because most leaf blowers use two cycle engines. They're lightweight

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<v Speaker 1>and inexpensive, but they require a mixture of gasoline and

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<v Speaker 1>oil to run. Unlike more complex engines, they don't have

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<v Speaker 1>separate chambers for fuel and lubricants. When operated, the engine

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<v Speaker 1>wastes approximately one third of the combined mixture, releasing carbon monoxide,

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<v Speaker 1>nitrous oxide, and hydrocarbons into the air. These three toxins

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<v Speaker 1>are some of the main culprits in the air pollution

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<v Speaker 1>from leaf blowers. Carbon Monoxide helps form smog. Nitrous oxide

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<v Speaker 1>is a prime ingredient in acid rain and has been

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<v Speaker 1>linked to global warming. Hydrocarbons are cancer causing organic compounds

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<v Speaker 1>that also contribute to smog formation. Plus, leafblowers are noisy.

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<v Speaker 1>How noisy are they when you engage in conversation. That's

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<v Speaker 1>a noise level of about sixty decibels according to the

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<v Speaker 1>Center for Hearing and Communication. If you're strolling on a

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<v Speaker 1>sidewalk and a car goes by, that's about seventy decibles.

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<v Speaker 1>A leaf blower, even at fifty ft or fifteen meters away,

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<v Speaker 1>can be up to seventy five deciples, and right up

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<v Speaker 1>close that jumps well into the nineties. According to the

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<v Speaker 1>World Health Organization, any noise above seventy five decibles risks

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<v Speaker 1>causing physical hearing damage, and then there's the mental toll.

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<v Speaker 1>Ms Aphonia is a relatively newly classified condition in which

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<v Speaker 1>people are angered by particular sounds, like chewing or knuckle cracking.

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<v Speaker 1>Although leaf blowers aren't mentioned in the diagnosis parameters, it

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<v Speaker 1>stands to reason that missophonia may be related to people's

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<v Speaker 1>dislike of the machines because they're extra sensitive to sound.

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<v Speaker 1>Preliminary data shows that missophones brains may have a hyper

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<v Speaker 1>sensitive connection between the auditory system and the limbic system,

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<v Speaker 1>which is the part of the brain that's responsible for

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<v Speaker 1>creating emotions. It's so much a part of life or

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<v Speaker 1>misophones that they can be shocked when others don't feel

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<v Speaker 1>or react the same way to certain noises. But being

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<v Speaker 1>irritated by leaf blowers doesn't necessarily mean you're asaphone. Erica Walker,

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<v Speaker 1>a doctoral student at Harvard Uni Versities Chance School of

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<v Speaker 1>Public Health discovered that it is far less irritating to

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<v Speaker 1>create a sound than it is to hear it. In

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<v Speaker 1>a survey of one thousand fifty residents and more than

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<v Speaker 1>a dozen Boston neighborhoods, Walker found that the majority of

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<v Speaker 1>respondents said they couldn't control or get away from noises

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<v Speaker 1>like leafblowers, and they believed that no one really cared

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<v Speaker 1>that it annoyed them. What's more, other research has shown

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<v Speaker 1>that leafblowers admit a low frequency noise that penetrates through

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<v Speaker 1>outer walls into homes and businesses in a way that

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<v Speaker 1>some other noises passing vehicles, for example, do not. However,

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<v Speaker 1>leaf blowers have become an integral part of commercial lawn care.

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<v Speaker 1>While a leaf blower may sound like fingernails across chalkboard

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<v Speaker 1>to you, for the businesses that rely on them for

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<v Speaker 1>a portion of their livelihood, it's probably music to the ears.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Laurel Dove and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan Neil and Tyler clang Are More on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other topics. Is it how stuff Brooks dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts,

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