Launch press release below

UNIVERSITY OF SALFORD NEWS RELEASE 22 Sept 2009

Scary screams to launch Manchester Science Festival

Manchester band Kid British and a University of Salford researcher have joined forces to find the key ingredients for a blood curdling scream ahead of the Manchester Science Festival.

Screaming Kid British

Screaming Kid British being recorded by Salford acoustic engineer Charlie Mydlarz

Trevor Cox, a professor of acoustics, has designed a website featuring a selection of screams and he is asking the public to listen and vote on how scary they are. As well as finding out which scream is the best, he hopes to uncover why some screams are scarier than others - with the results being released in time for the Festival and Halloween.

Some of the screams were donated by Kid British who recorded them at the University's multi-million pound acoustics labs, following stints supporting Doves and at the iTunes Live Festival this summer.

People can take part in the experiment by visiting www.sound101.org/screams/ where each visitor will rate six screams for scariness on a six point scale. The results will be collected and analysed by Professor Cox, with the results announced just before Halloween.

He said: "Listening to the 19 screams we have harvested, I find some much more horrible than the others. I'm interested to see if other people agree, and to explore other issues such as, are screaming men scarier than women.

Sean from Kid British, who has a degree in engineering, has his own theory about the worst screams," he said. "I think you need to be afraid or startled to give the best screams. I�m not sure ours were scary, but it certainly helped to relieve stress!"

The survey will run until 30 October so the results can be released in time for the Manchester Science Festival (24 October - 1 November) and, of course, the scariest night of the year - Halloween.

Festival Director Natalie Ireland said: "Science can be found in everything around us - even screaming. This experiment just goes to show that science can be fun as well as interesting and I'd encourage everyone to give it a go."

Notes to Editors:

Some screams are available for broadcast (see bottom of this page)

Scream facts

Loudest scream by a crowd

A scream by a group of Scouts (all Finland) was measured to reach a level of 127.2 dBA, in the grounds of Toivala's Metsakoulu, Siilinjarvi, Finland on 16 April 2005.

Loudest scream

129 decibels set by a classroom assistant Jill Drake in the Millennium Dome in 2000

Most heard scream:

The Wilhelm Scream has been used repeatedly in Star Wars and other blockbuster films after it became an in-joke among sound effect artists. It has been used in nearly 150 films (http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm.html)

Startling

A loud sound causes the acoustic startle reflex, a super quick response (0.010 - 0.15 seconds) in the brain to alert us to possible danger.

Why do we like being scared - why do we enjoy roller coasters and horror movies

Our brain enjoys tension and release - so we enjoy being scared and then it working out alright in the end.

Tailored to our hearing

The acoustic fingerprint of a scream is in many ways very similar to a baby's cry. The pitch matches the most sensitive part of our hearing system, ensuring maximum audibility.

Further notes

The Scariest Screams experiment is part of the 2009 Manchester Science Festival which runs from 24 October - 1 November. The programme includes over 150 exciting science, technology, engineering and maths events for families and adults in venues across Greater Manchester.

Manchester Science Festival brings together universities, organisations and key cultural partners from across the region. The Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) is the lead partner for the Manchester Science Festival, which is supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Siemens.

Trevor Cox is Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford. He is a Senior Media Fellow funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and has presented a number of science documentaries on BBC radio 4 and World Service. He is President-Elect of the Institute of Acoustics (IoA), the professional institute for Acoustics in the UK. Trevor is resident scientist on BBC Radio Manchester.