1. Discovering Peace and Quiet in an Unexpected Place
2. The Sound of Silence: Orfield Laboratories
3. Understanding the Experience
Where do you go to finally get some peace and quiet? The world is a noisy place — airplanes flying overhead, traffic, and the sounds of your coworkers typing and discussing the latest office news. Consequently, sometimes you need to escape to a tranquil environment.
There are plenty of serene, off-the-beaten-path locations you could visit, such as a private island or the heart of a rainforest, far from civilization. However, one of the quietest places of all is located right in the busy city of Minneapolis.
The Sound of Silence: Orfield Laboratories
Orfield Laboratories claims to be “The Quietest Place on Earth.” This small room is lined from top to bottom with sound-proof foam. In 2005, the sound readings reached a remarkable negative 2.5 decibels, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. It regained that title in 2013.
Microsoft took the title in 2015 with an anechoic chamber built at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. However, this chamber is not open to visitors.
Understanding the Experience
If you’re eager to experience the sound of silence, you can visit the now second quietest place in the world. “[We run] two tours a week, and most everybody is from outside of the area. It can be a small group of up to 10 or just an individual,” lab owner Steve Orfield explained.
The laboratory offers various tour options with different lengths of time spent in the chamber. The entry fee is $200 per person, with a minimum of $400. Visitors can also reserve the chamber for $600 an hour and take on the Orfield Challenge to see how long you can endure the silence — the current record, as of June 2022, is two hours.
Visitors often experience some disorientation upon entering the chamber. “What the chamber tends to do is it tends to scare people,” Orfield said. “When you get in the chamber, everything gets tremendously quiet. You feel like there’s pressure on your ears, but it’s actually pressure moving away.” Within minutes, visitors may start to hear their own bodily sounds, from their heartbeat to their breathing.
The experience is not suited for everyone — some visitors leave immediately because they find the lack of sound to be unnerving. However, the laboratory’s purpose extends beyond providing a unique experience. Orfield utilizes this space to research the therapeutic effects of silence, particularly for individuals with disorders such as autism, PTSD, and various mental illnesses.
For more details about visiting, you can find further information on the Orfield Labs website. Interested travelers may contact the lab directly via email for any inquiries.
