*By Alisha Haridasani*
It’s the most divisive question since the blue and black dress (or was it white and gold?!): Do you hear Yanny or Laurel?
Technically, the answer is "Laurel." But some people swear it's "Yanny."
The question, which is ripping the internet apart, revolves around an audio clip [reportedly](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/science/yanny-laurel.html) posted on Reddit by a student who found it on a vocabulary website when researching a school project under the word "laurel." The clip went viral, leaving many listeners questioning what they heard ー and maybe their sanity.
The discrepancy in what people hear could be due to circumstance, said Brad Story, professor of speech, language, and hearing at the University of Arizona.
“It really is going to depend on the information that you have in terms of your bias toward listening to it at that moment in time," said Story. "That’s what we call ‘top-down information’ ー trying to make sense of any kind of pattern that's present.”
The two words share very similar acoustic characteristics that your brain could selectively hear it one way or the other, he said.
The bass, frequency, and volume of the audio clip can also influence what someone hears. Some people posted videos on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/JFLivesay/status/996585941241401346) where the audio levels were adjusted, changing how the clip could be heard.
So, whatever the *technical* answer to the question is, in reality, it can be both.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/yanny-vs-laurel).
With a new year upon us, what better time to finally make that resolution to get your financial house in order? Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, author of "The 30-Day Money Cleanse," joined Cheddar Wednesday with some tips for doing just that.
January is a critical month for diet-plan companies, which count on the masses of consumers who have resolved to eat better and live healthier in the new year. For Nutrisystem, which was acquired by Tivity Health last month for $1.4 billion, that presents an opportunity to bring new products to the market as consumers are primed to be thinking about their weight.
The Democratic Party establishment still have a chance to embrace the Green New Deal ー and their success in upcoming elections might just depend on it, Justice Democrats Communications Director Waleed Shahid told Cheddar on Monday.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
Netflix accounts had more than 45 million eyes glued to its newest film, "Bird Box." But that number may not cover the entire reach of the blindfold-horror movie's viewership.
Convenience has been the prime selling point for fast-food joints for decades, but new technology and a surplus of on-demand delivery options are eating away at the value proposition for companies building their business around speed and drive-thru lanes. "Delivery is really reshaping the whole landscape, and those that are early adapters are really going to benefit," said White Castle VP Jamie Richardson in an interview with Cheddar.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's "out of touch" year-end post foreshadows a challenging 2019 for the social media giant, said Mark Douglas, CEO of digital display advertising platform SteelHouse.
2018 has been transformative for retail: Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Toys “R” Us shuttered its doors, and Amazon entered the U.S. into an extravagant pageant to find a base for its second HQ. As the landscape of shopping changes yet again, 2019 promises another existential moment in retail. We’re forecasting the biggest trends and predicting which fads will get the boot from consumers.
After a disappointing 2017, 2018 was a record-breaking year for the U.S. box office, as moviegoers shelled out more than $11.38 billion to see films like "Avengers: Infinity War," "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," and "Mission Impossible: Fallout." But 2019 could be an even more important year for theaters.
Institutional investors changed the cryptocurrency market in 2018, veering away from their blockchain-not-bitcoin attitudes and trying out strategies for entering the new crypto asset class. Cheddar is gazing into our crystal ball to predict what's ahead for crypto in 2019.
