11 Times Audio Was Used As A Weapon Of Control

LRADs, or Long Range Acoustic Devices, appeared in the early 2000s. The LRAD directs sound waves in a high-density beam. Closer you get, more damage occurs. The device does not kill, but it causes long-term damage.Long-term damage.This damage includes ear-ringing, sinus pain, and migraines.

These sonic weapons...These sonic weapons...Police use these weapons for many tasks. They range from simple directional communication to non-lethal crowd control. Police use them to quell volatile gatherings. The LRAD also sends emergency alerts during mass communications or power failures.

One LRAD, named the Scream by the Israeli Defense Force,...The Scream.The Israeli Defense Force used The Scream during a hostile protest in Israel. It stopped aggressive protesters, leaving them disoriented and nauseous.

Long Range Acoustic Devices often defend seafaring ships. A US cruise ship faced pirates near the Somali coast in 2005. The strike was so sudden.so sudden.The ship's captain fought off pirates in his bathrobe.

LRADs were new technology then and rarely used in the field. Pirates learned how they worked in moments. Despite machine guns and rockets, a few LRAD sweeps made them back off. This let the cruise ship escape to safety.

In late 2017, US diplomats and intelligence agents in Cuba evacuated after feeling strange ailments. Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a statement about these events and listed symptoms the expelled personnel had experienced.expelled personnel.The personnel experienced: "hearing loss, dizziness, balance and visual problems, headaches and cognitive issues."

The media speculated about sonic weapons causing these illnesses. They noted all symptoms linked to inner-ear damage. Some diplomats heard strange sounds in their offices—"disturbing sensations of sounds and vibrations that have been described variously as the noises made by cicadas, static, metal sheets waving or [...] marbles rolling around a metal funnel"—as the NY Times put it.The audio device may have targeted US diplomats in Cuba.The NY Times reported this.According to an analysis inThe analysis in the article shows this.Wired covered this story.:

Physicists and acousticians do not know how ultrasound or infrasound can cause what the State Department claims happened to its people. This leaves two options: a new sci-fi sound device or something else.

Poison, specifically ototoxins, was the most likely cause, not a new sonic technology. These toxins cause the same symptoms as the Cuban delegation experienced in the bloodstream. However, ototoxins have limits. They only enter via injection or inhalation, both needing an obvious delivery method.

Some speculated chemical toxins from the Cuban government. Why would the US government not release that information? The mystery stayed unsolved as US-Cuba relations slowed down from their Obama-era progress.

In 2018, US diplomats in Guangzhou, China, returned to the US for testing. They showed symptoms similar to what State Department officials reported in Cuba in 2017.The NY Times called it.The NY Times called it.It called it a "medical mystery." US officials suspected other nations, like Russia, caused both events. One of the first known victims.One first known victim in China showed signs of possible brain damage after reporting disturbing sounds and sensations. The official health alert warned:One first known victim in China showed signs of possible brain damage after reporting disturbing sounds and sensations. The official health alert warned:

A US government employee in China reported subtle, vague, abnormal sensations of sound and pressure. We do not know what caused the symptoms. We have no knowledge of similar situations in China, inside or outside the diplomatic community.

The.The NYTimes reported disturbing similarities between the injuries in China and those in Cuba from 2017. The State Department does not know the cause, but audio caused neurological problems in both scenarios.The NYTimes reported disturbing similarities between the injuries in China and those in Cuba from 2017. The State Department does not know the cause, but audio caused neurological problems in both scenarios.

Modern military interrogators sometimes use heavy metal music.Modern military interrogators sometimes use heavy metal music.Interrogators play heavy metal music at loud decibels to wear down prisoners during questioning. Reports show this works. This practice is not new. In 1989, General Manuel Noriega fled to the Vatican's embassy when the US invaded Panama. At that time, Noriega faced scrutiny for moving drugs and weapons and for illegally consolidating power under a US ally's cover for years.

When the US invaded Panama to remove Noriega's rule, he ran for his life and hid in the Vatican's embassy. International treaties offered him protection and safe shelter for a time. The US military surrounded the embassy where he hid and demanded his surrender. When he refused, the military besieged him with metal music. They surrounded the embassy using Humvees loaded with speakers andThey pumped out loud music nonstop.Noriega surrendered on January 3, 1990.

In February 1993, the FBI arrived at a compound in Waco, Texas, to arrest David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians cult.In February 1993, the FBI arrived at a compound in Waco, Texas, to arrest David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians.The Bureau suspected Koresh's cult stockpiled unauthorized weapons and sought to arrest him. However, they messed up the mission. The FBI's approach leaked to the cult, and members prepared for an outside attack.

April 19, 1993Officers raided the compound, which became the Waco Siege. Soon after, the compound burned, ending most cult members inside.

One compelling story from the siege involves what happened during the standoff.The FBI used sound.Authorities surrounded the compound with speakers and blasted various sounds.The FBI blasted a variety of sounds.They kept the sound barrage going for 50 days and nights.They kept the sound barrage going for 50 days and nights.The FBI aimed to stop the inhabitants from resting or sleeping properly.The sonic disruption.The sonic disruption combined other tactics to stress those inside without causing lethal or lasting harm.

During the Vietnam conflict, the US tried psychological warfare with sound. They found the Vietnamese believed local folklore stated those not buried right would wander forever or until proper rites occurred. Thus, the US Army's PSYOPs division created Operation Wandering Soul.Operation Wandering Soul.Operation Wandering Soul aimed to incite fear, demoralize, and exploit the North Vietnamese using their own spirituality.

The US Army blasted pre-recorded voice distortions and eerie noises—called "Ghost Tape No. 10"—into dark jungles at night to demoralize nearby Viet Cong. The mission succeeded moderately. The first attempt captured three enemies, too worn down by the audio assault to fight. Another attempt showed that when they targeted a Viet Cong-defended hilltop bunker, 150 soldiers deserted and fled.

During WWII, armament development exploded for most major global powers. Hitler's Germany was technologically ahead of everyone else at the start of the conflict; its armies were nearly unstoppable.

Among the horrible prototypes they had was the fearsome Luftkanone.The Luftkanone—the Sound Cannon—was incendiary.The front of the device featured a parabolic reflector.This reflector measured roughly 10 feet in diameter.Behind the reflector sat a combustion chamber. Methane and oxygen filled the chamber, exploding when they met. The shockwave from that blast then amplified through the front reflector. The cannon did not fire once. It spit a constant stream of methane and oxygen, meaning the eruptions and sound continued until the device ran out of gas; it functioned like a flamethrower, but with sound.

The German army measured the sonic cannon's killing power. They tested exposure for 30 seconds. Within 200 feet, the pressure alone killed targets. Poor range and easy-to-hit, weak parabolic reflectors stopped Hitler's war machine from using the sonic cannons.

North Korea keeps its people under tight watch. The state dictates every move and choice. Anyone straying from orders faces punishment. North Korean citizens must only hear state-sponsored music. Many people observe this music is bad, not just because it's propaganda—it is.Every citizen wakes up to that propaganda music each morning.Every citizenwakes upto that propaganda music each morning.

In 2016, North and South Korea clashed musically. In January that year, an audio battle began.North Korea launched a nuclear test., which angered its southern neighbor. South Korea retaliated by pumping its famous K-pop.K-popSouth Korea played its K-pop over the DMZ, along with its own propaganda. North Korea responded by playing its own music.

Countries near North Korea smuggle culture into the North. DVD players, USB drives, and phones enter the country via Chinese borders through its underground market. These devices often contain South Korean entertainment. ABC Australia called this movement "a silent revolution," noting South Korean, Western, and Chinese dramas, documentaries, music, and films enter the Hermit Kingdom.

During the 1950s, people feared nuclear weapons, especially the United States, which held the only working version then. The USSR sought to research or take over the technology but did not rely only on atomic power for border safety. They looked for any edge, including sonic devices.

The ability to capturesound as a weaponThis ability to capture sound as a weapon came by accident. Russian scientists working on robotic assistants and weapons during the Cold War repeatedly felt sick in their lab. They found a faulty air conditioner and realized its nearly inaudible noise affected them.

Russian scientists weaponized this finding. Through many tests, they built a device they named theInfrasonic Whistle. They found infrasonic frequencies—low sounds below human hearing—caused huge harm. Some sounds lasted long after the machine shut off. Experimenting scientists lost sight, their organs spasmed violently, and their muscles hurt. They decided continued exposure could kill them.

Science of infrasonic sounds now detects seismic activity and weapon movements. Experts think...Infrasonics may resurface.Recent events at US embassies in Cuba and China suggest this.

ShotSpotter uses a network of city microphones. Mics activate when a gun fires, sending shot data back. Home base determines the shot's origin. Police use this location to send armed officers.

Gunfire location ideas date back to WWII artillery. Practical use for crime fighting started in the '90s. East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, San Francisco Bay Area, saw much illegal gun use. A local tech company decided to help.That company developed ShotSpotter.They developed ShotSpotter in 1994.

ShotSpotter operates in over 90 cities, using motion sensors and cameras. However, the system's ability to locate shots means it spies on the cities it protects.