*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).
Bea Dixon, CEO and Founder of The Honey Pot Company, joins Cheddar News to discuss the challenges Black women face in the health and wellness space, and her campaign about reclaiming wellness.
One people killed in a shooting in El Paso, Ohio residents are worried about health issues after a serious train derailment, and there has been a decrease in overdose deaths in the U.S. Here is everything you Need2Know for Thursday, February 16, 2023.
Raquel Welch attends The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Breakfast at Milk Studios on Dec. 9, 2015 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Rare footage of the iconic Titanic discovery has been unearthed as the footage from 1986 captures the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution team discovering the wrecked remains of the ship that sank in 1912.
The world's oldest known Hebrew Bible is set to go on the auction block and is expected to fetch millions.
The winner of the record $2 billion Powerball jackpot was revealed.
Cheddar News spoke to Shay Levister, a certified love coach, who has a few insightful tips that could make complete next year's day for singles.
The top entertainment headlines for Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
Hyundai and Kia are releasing a software patch for select models that is designed to stop a type of auto theft recently popularized in TikTok videos.
A U.S. general says Russia has operationally lost the war in Ukraine, a court says federal workers are not owed COVID-19 hazard pay, and Microsoft officially shuts down Internet Explorer. Here is everything you Need2Know for Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
