The All-New Book of Amazing Facts, Volume 1

8 Yes, the call of a howler monkey can travel three miles and an elephant’s vocalization may be deeper—but of all the voices on earth, humans have the most versatile. Each person’s voice uses a mar- velous sound-producing mechanism that is more intricate than any musical instrument. Scientists have attempted to reproduce the human voice with computers, but the results often sound unnatural. A human voice can produce a range of octaves by using just two wedge-like projections of ligament and muscle, called vocal cords. These sounds are amplified by built-in resonators in our heads called sinus cavities. In order to sing a high C, a soprano’s vocal cords must vibrate— that is, open and close—1,200 times per second. On the other hand, a bass singer’s lowest note requires only 40 vibrations per second. Besides singing, human voices are capable of producing the most complex variations in speech, with 72 sets of muscles working with split-second timing. In talking for one minute, the tongue, jaw, and lips make at least 300 separate movements. At the same time, our vocal cords vibrate and our respiratory muscles force out just the right amount of air. And if this isn’t complex enough, think of the many inflections the voice is capable of producing—ranging up to nearly 500 audible pitches! One can vary tone and volume tremendously, from an ear-ringing shout to a delicate whisper. But one Man had the most distinct human voice in history— Jesus. “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (John 7:46). The Human Voice Unique in Nature Animals & Biology