Daisy Phillipson
Spending time in the quietest room in the world might sound like a slice of heaven for many of you – but as they say, be careful what you wish for.
One YouTuber learned the hard way after breaking the record for longest time spent in said room. Let's just say that things got weird.
Before we get into it, let's first look at the space which is believed to be the quietest in existence.
Advert
South Bank University's 'Anechoic Chamber' in the UK is soundproofed to be so silent that sound is measured in negative decibels and visitors are advised to stay inside no longer than 45 minutes or else they may start to lose their minds.
The chamber's designer, Steven Orfield, said: "We challenge people to sit in the chamber in the dark.
"When it's quiet, ears will adapt. The quieter the room, the more things you hear.
Advert
"You'll hear your heart beating, sometimes you can hear your lungs, hear your stomach gurgling loudly. In the anechoic chamber, you become the sound."
Amazingly, one of our former reporters crushed the World Record for time spent inside the room back in 2016 by sitting in there for a whopping 67 minutes.
And even since then there's been an increase in thrill-seekers and challengers looking to test their limits inside the infamous chamber.
One of these was YouTuber and musician Callux.
Advert
In a video showcasing the challenge, he provided a brief description of the room and outlined the rules he had to abide by in order for his attempt to count towards the official Guinness World Records, which were as follows:
1. The challenger must be alone in the chamber.
2. No sleeping/fainting is allowed.
Advert
3. The challenger must be monitored and remain under constant supervision at all times.
4. Sound must stay below 25DBa.
5. The challenger is permitted to speak for up to one minute every five minutes.
6. The challenger is permitted to leave at any time.
Advert
7. Optional - the challenge must be completed in the dark.
Following a brief tour of the facilities, courtesy of staff at SBU who outlined the risks involved, Callux was then sealed inside the chamber... and it didn't take long before things started getting trippy.
After just five minutes spent in isolation, he immediately reported feeling disoriented, following an intense burst of tinnitus in both ears.
At the 15-minute mark, he claimed to be seeing lights dancing around him in the room, and after 30 minutes inside he claimed to be able to hear the sound of his own bloodstream.
Advert
After closing in on an hour and getting within spitting distance of the World Record, the YouTube almost gave in as he reported becoming disturbed by hallucinations in the room, but not only did he persevere, but he went on to smash the previous record, setting a new one of one hour and 26 minutes.
When asked to comment on how he found his time inside the room, Callux used just one sentence to sum up the experience: "That was f***ing weird."
Yep, that sounds about right.