1+2+3 Sound Sucker
USING THIS “SOUND SUCKER” DEVICE allows you to experience a curious sensation: it’s as if sound is not only being blocked, but actually sucked away from your ear.
The sound sucker works on a narrow range of frequencies. My testing showed it most effective a few cycles to either side of 660Hz (depending on the amount of gelatin), and the effect is most noticeable in a room with a wide spectrum of ambient noise frequencies.
Can you explain this acoustic phenomenon? Or better yet, can you draw a simple diagram? Share your explanation with us at makezine.com/30/123_soundsucker.
YOU WILL NEED
Boiling water
Gelatin dessert mix such as Jell-O, Knox, etc.
Coffee stirrers, plastic, thin, hollow, 5½" long (1 box)
Mug, large, flat-bottomed
Frequency generator (optional) or frequency generator smart-device app
Bowl, spoon, and measuring cup
1. Start cookin’.
Prepare the gelatin according to the box directions. Before it sets, reserve about a ¼ cup of the liquid for the project.
2. Pack your mug.
Pour the ¼ cup of gelatin into the mug. Place coffee stirrers in the mug, packing it as densely as possible. When done, it looks something like the compound eye of an insect.
3. Let it set.
Place the stirrer-packed mug in the refrigerator until the gelatin sets. The idea is that the gelatin seals the bottom tip of each stirrer.
Damien Scogin
Suck Up the Sound
In a place with medium-to-loud ambient noise, hold the mug next to your ear, tilted sideways so the opening is facing your ear. If there’s enough sound in the 660Hz range, you’ll notice a sudden drop-off in acoustic energy (noise) when you bring the sound sucker near.
If you have a frequency generator, test a range of frequencies. Besides the 660Hz tone, it also attenuates some higher frequencies. 
MAKE Contributing Editor William Gurstelle is the author of the Remaking History column on page 170 and DIY books including Backyard Ballistics and The Practical Pyromaniac.