Current Affairs

An unassuming audio clip has become the subject of heated debate as people argue about whether it says ‘yanny’ or ‘laurel’ or both.

The world is divided on this. So is the UNRESERVED office. Listen to it yourself.

What do you hear?! Yanny or Laurel pic.twitter.com/jvHhCbMc8I

— Cloe Feldman (@CloeCouture) May 15, 2018

We have news for you. It’s actually ‘laurel’, so whoever hears ‘yanny’ needs to chill. The original clip is from vocabulary.com, and it was recorded as ‘laurel’ (the kind of wreath made from leaves that people wore in ancient times). We tested it in the office – Team Yanny now hears ‘laurel’ loud and clear in the original clip.

Yanny or Laurel kicked off when a high school student in Georgia named Roland Szabo played the clip on his computer. His classmates couldn’t agree on which word they heard, so he posted an Instagram poll about it and shared it on Reddit.

The last debate of this kind happened with the ‘blue or white’ dress in 2015. Due to the individual way every person’s brain perceives colour, some saw the dress as blue with black lace, while others saw it as white with gold lace. (Sorry, but #rendanggate isn’t really a debate because rendang simply isn’t traditionally crispy; end of discussion.)

So tell us, are you Team Yanny or Team Laurel?

And now, here are reactions from celebrities who are just as baffled as you are.

Literally everything at my show just stopped to see if people hear Laurel or Yanny. I hear Laurel. https://t.co/efWRw1Gj0L

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 15, 2018

it’s so clearly laurel. I can’t even figure out how one would hear yanny.

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 15, 2018

I just asked my dad what he heard and he said “nothing” and my mom said “rural”

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 15, 2018

“I heard doughnut!” 🍩

Shaq, EJ, Kenny & Chuck can’t decide between “Laurel” or “Yanny” 😂 pic.twitter.com/pnTgyFlKjj

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 17, 2018

I hear a robot saying “yeah me” “Yehme” like it’s congratulating itself for wasting our time but I don’t hear Laurel I used to live on laurel canyon how do I not hear that! https://t.co/jL8aViHTxl

— Ruby Rose (@RubyRose) May 16, 2018

Not to be a total nerd, but this is a frequency debate. Everyone will hear something different depending on the highs and lows they’re lacking. The real question is, “How’s your Hearing?” Btw…I hear laurel. Lol. #YannyorLaurel https://t.co/q8IWJfcYgi

— Jesse McCartney (@JesseMcCartney) May 16, 2018

I hear #yanny so clearly… but if I listen closely I can hear a deep quiet ghost saying #laurel…. so there… anyone else hear both?

— Emmy Rossum (@emmyrossum) May 16, 2018

5:30 – Yanny 9:30- Laurel What…is…happening?

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) May 16, 2018

OMG, it doesn’t say Laurel OR Yanni. It’s actually saying Trump…Trump…Trump…Trump…

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 16, 2018

There is a world that exists, and there is a world that we perceive. Connecting the two, or conveying accurately our own personal hallucination to someone else, is the central problem of being human https://t.co/tKkaoKlBA9

— WIRED (@WIRED) May 17, 2018

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