Monday January 5th, 2009

The exercise:

For Christmas my sister Nicky got me a Schott’s Miscellany 2009 page a day calendar and I’m already loving it just 5 days into the year.

Today it mentions an online survey conducted to determine the most unpleasant sound… ever. Number one was vomiting, microphone feedback took second place and wailing babies finished third. While I’m intrigued by the tenth place finish of ‘a Tasmanian devil’s scream’, I think I shall resist the temptation to hear it for myself.

So the writing prompt for today is: what do you consider to be the most unpleasant sound?

Mine:

Perhaps it wasn’t among the options to vote on, but I don’t know how the sound of nails on a chalkboard didn’t make the top ten. Honestly though, even if it wasn’t on the list there should have been enough write in ballots for it to screech into the top five.

I suspect a conspiracy.

A close second for me would be the sound of ice being scraped off a car windshield. But only when someone else is doing it - I’m totally not bothered when I do it myself. Don’t ask - I don’t understand it either.