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Does your microwave oven speak to you?


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Ours does! :confused1:

 

Whenever there is a power outage around here (which has been quite often recently) there is about a 15 second period during which our microwave oven speaks. What we hear from the oven are rather clear voices speaking technical jargon which is unfamiliar to us. It does speak with a certain amount of authority, so we often wonder if we are supposed to kneel or bow in its presence. :svengo:

 

Our best guess is that we are hearing the voices from a control center for our electrical grid, but we are not sure. (It reminds me of the books in Riven where you can peer into another world...)

 

MomsintheGarden and I are both electrical engineers, with me being in the communications field, but we do not know how this voice gets into our microwave! I even asked a colleague's wife when she was an electrical engineer with a different power company if this is how they communicated and she didn't know of anything that would cause this.

 

Anyway, it's not a big deal, I'm just wondering if anyone else has a speaking microwave.

 

Finally, if you know why this happens, please let us know and relieve us of a little bit of our ignorance.

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That's creepy. I wonder if they can hear you...:leaving:

 

:D

We've wondered that, too! We've tried shouting back into the microwave, but alas, that's about the time it stops talking! Maybe they DO hear us! :D

 

Does having conversations with the microwave count as socialization? :lol::lol:

Edited by RegGuheert
Typo: the->they
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We've wondered that, too! We've tried shouting back into the microwave, but alas, that's about the time it stops talking! Maybe the DO hear us! :D

 

Does having conversations with the microwave count as socialization? :lol::lol:

 

Now I am wondering. Were there...perhaps...any adult beverages consumed when you heard these said voices?

 

And I am impressed that you tried to communicate back to them...:D

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Can you get it to speak by pulling the plug, or throwing the breaker? Or does it just do it when all the power goes out?
Funny you should ask that...I was thinking of that test when I was composing the post. Since the plug is inaccessible and the breaker panel is more than 15 seconds from the microwave, we will have to devise an experiment this weekend! I will report the findings here. You will be the FIRST to know!

 

If it works, I may be able to learn more of the microwave's secrets! :bigear:

Is your house built on any Indian burial sites?:scared:
The farm I grew up on had a cave that was supposedly an Indian burial site. The only thing interesting about this site was that it was surveyed by George Washington long ago. But you don't think George Washington would speak to us through a microwave, do you? :D
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Huh...I googled voices from microwave.

In the 1960s, Dr. Frey found that when microwaves from 300 to 3,000 megahertz

were pulsed at specific rates, humans (even deaf people) could "hear" them

and the sound seemed to come from just behind the head. He disregard it at

first, but later work show that the microwaves are sensed somewhere in the

temporal region just above and slightly in front of the ears. The phenomenon

apparently results from pressure waves set up in brain tissue, some of which

activate the sound receptors of the inner ear via bone conduction, while

others directly stimulate nerve cells in the auditory pathways.

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Huh...I googled voices from microwave.

 

In the 1960s, Dr. Frey found that when microwaves from 300 to 3,000 megahertz

were pulsed at specific rates, humans (even deaf people) could "hear" them

and the sound seemed to come from just behind the head. He disregard it at

first, but later work show that the microwaves are sensed somewhere in the

temporal region just above and slightly in front of the ears. The phenomenon

apparently results from pressure waves set up in brain tissue, some of which

activate the sound receptors of the inner ear via bone conduction, while

others directly stimulate nerve cells in the auditory pathways.

I'm pretty sure the microwave oven has been OFF when it has spoken to us. Anyway, if it were on, I would hope that the microwaves would stay INSIDE! :eek:

 

The voices do not come from within our heads or behind our heads, they come from the microwave oven!

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Not the microwave, but at the family beach condo, we get severe weather broadcasts through the alarm speakers. I was peeling shrimp one afternoon when a voice came out of nowhere saying, "This is a test of the emergency broadcast system...". Completely freaked me out. My younger sister said she first heard it when they rode out a tropical storm at the condo last fall. She thought it was the fridge.

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I'm pretty sure the microwave oven has been OFF when it has spoken to us. Anyway, if it were on, I would hope that the microwaves would stay INSIDE! :eek:

 

The voices do not come from within our heads or behind our heads, they come from the microwave oven!

 

Or maaayybe it's like the little guy in the fridge that turns the light off and on...something to think about.

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Do these voices say the same thing over and over? Maybe the micro is calling out to you for help since its power is cut? Okay, probably not but it's a thought.

 

This post made me think of a program I saw a year or two ago. The premise behind it was if sounds can be recorded onto objects similar to the way records are (were) made, perhaps we can "listen" to sounds from ancient times by recreating the waves from the pottery. Of course watching intently with a baby was not possible, but it does make me wonder if this could be a possibility. Perhaps your board is emitting a sound when shutting down that it picked up during programming, and perhaps that sound is a recorded voice. It may very well be supposed to emit a small beep, which was recorded over by sounds on the manufacturing line.

 

Hmmm, very interesting!!!

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Do these voices say the same thing over and over?
I was just arguing this point with some of the Guheert children. Some say "Yes", some say "No". We have clearly heard "10, 9" followed by indistinguishable talk a couple of times. However, I think we have sometimes heard other things. Perhaps not...
Maybe the micro is calling out to you for help since its power is cut? Okay, probably not but it's a thought.

 

This post made me think of a program I saw a year or two ago. The premise behind it was if sounds can be recorded onto objects similar to the way records are (were) made, perhaps we can "listen" to sounds from ancient times by recreating the waves from the pottery. Of course watching intently with a baby was not possible, but it does make me wonder if this could be a possibility. Perhaps your board is emitting a sound when shutting down that it picked up during programming, and perhaps that sound is a recorded voice. It may very well be supposed to emit a small beep, which was recorded over by sounds on the manufacturing line.

 

Hmmm, very interesting!!!

It's an interesting idea. Hopefully our tests this weekend will tell us more.

 

Does anyone know how to contact those people that film strange phenomena and then make television shows about them? Perhaps they would pay good money to the Guheert family for our story! :D

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Have you called the manufacturer of the microwave? I suspect that something happened during production of the control board. I can't imagine how it would be anything outside the microwave, but you never know!

 

I worked at the Compaq manufacturing plant and you just wouldn't believe the interesting things that happened during the manufacturing process. Not to mention the very interesting calls and investigation requests we would have to review. Computers picking up airliner chatter, computers making teeth fillings hum, computers speaking English words backwards (which sound very similar to Russian)...nothing surprises me!!

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My microwave doesn't talk to me, but my bird talks to the microwave. When we open the door, he chirps three times at the same pitch as the microwave. He is able to hit the pitch even before the microwave beeps.

 

I suspect the technical guys are not speaking to us, because they haven't yet figured out what's going on.

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Now I am wondering. Were there...perhaps...any adult beverages consumed when you heard these said voices?

 

And I am impressed that you tried to communicate back to them...:D

 

Did you notice that he did not answer your poignant question about the "adult beverages"? :lol:

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No, ours hasn't. Your hasn't told you to kill anyone, has it?

Did it say, "Zule" or "Gozer"? Inquiring minds need to know.
We're still trying to decode the messages, but THIS REG did not hear either of those things being said. Perhaps the microwave only said those things to the OTHER REG. You know EVIL REG: :angry:
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We're still trying to decode the messages, but THIS REG did not hear either of those things being said. Perhaps the microwave only said those things to the OTHER REG. You know EVIL REG: :angry:

The one who sleeps over the sheets no doubt. Six feet over the sheets. ;)

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Ours does! :confused1:

 

 

My first thought when I read your subject title was, "Yes!"...but not in the way you are describing. See, our microwave has never liked being cold. If the temperature in our house gets to 64/65 degrees, it will wake us up (by beeping nonstop and flashing the display with various nonsense characters) so we can unplug it and put it out of its misery. When it first started happening, we called the manufacturer about it and they were clueless. Unfortunately, they also didn't offer to replace it. So, we learned to unplug it when we aren't using it during the winter.

 

It has since gotten pickier. It freaks out at warmer temperatures than it used to so we keep it unplugged all the time unless it is in use.

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Oooooh, sounds intriguing! How about trying to record the "voices" if your experiment does work. That would be great fun!! You could even share it with us.

 

 

Yes, and if you can figure out how it's happening, can you have your microwave call mine and explain it? I need mine to start telling me, "Hey you, it's getting late. Get your butt off the computer and fix some dinner for the family!" :D

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Yes, and if you can figure out how it's happening, can you have your microwave call mine and explain it? I need mine to start telling me, "Hey you, it's getting late. Get your butt off the computer and fix some dinner for the family!" :D

 

Mine says, "Clean me." What's that about? :confused:

 

 

:D

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Several years ago, a local radio station increased their power. We heard it on:

 

the land line (phone)

the computer

the cell phone (when it would work at all)

 

People closer to the towers had it also interfere with:

 

home security systems

baby monitors

 

Technology and power cause strange things to happen.

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First, I'm glad I don't have a microwave! :eek:

 

Second, it reminded me of when Marcia Brady was getting radio reception from her braces. :lol:

 

Third, I laughed so hard at this thread my kids got out of bed to see if I was ok. :D

 

I agree with lionfamily1999, this wins the award for Best Thread Ever!! :smilielol5:

:lurk5:

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We had one that did that, sort of. It would turn on at random times, sometimes in the middle of the night. We had it worked on, but it didn't fix it. We finally plugged it into a different outlet, and it stopped. Go figure!

 

Moving ours didn't help. It took us a while to figure out that it simply didn't like to be cold. Now it doesn't even like being cool, or even comfortable. It's plugged into an extension cord so we can easily unplug it after each use.

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In the tradition of all TRUE oracles, the one in our microwave does not give out its words of wisdom except when IT is ready to do so! :D

Can you get it to speak by pulling the plug, or throwing the breaker?
DS19 helped me conduct the experiment using the breaker and trying various off times. Nothing!
Or does it just do it when all the power goes out?
That seems to be the case. Does anyone know how to create a power outage so that we can continue our scientific testing? :cheers2:
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In the tradition of all TRUE oracles, the one in our microwave does not give out its words of wisdom except when IT is ready to do so! :DDS19 helped me conduct the experiment using the breaker and trying various off times. Nothing!That seems to be the case. Does anyone know how to create a power outage so that we can continue our scientific testing? :cheers2:

 

Turn off all of the breakers in the house...

 

or just keep up the :cheers2: and eventually you'll start hearing voices anyway or "your" lights will go out.

Edited by Mandamom
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After 5 years of scrubbing out a non-self cleaning microwave and eating rubbery or crisped leftovers I threw it out.

 

My relationship with toaster oven has been more satisfactory. It has a drip pan that pulls out for convenient cleaning. It doesn't make my food rubbery--althought it can crisp things if the timer isn't set properly.

 

:D

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Never have had this happen. When I was a girl, though, our iron would pick up and play radio signals. It was the strangest thing ! I would plug in the iron to iron the pillowcases -- (Can you believe that my mother insisted on this task ?!) -- and sometimes music and voices would begin ! :confused:

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In the tradition of all TRUE oracles, the one in our microwave does not give out its words of wisdom except when IT is ready to do so! :DDS19 helped me conduct the experiment using the breaker and trying various off times. Nothing!That seems to be the case. Does anyone know how to create a power outage so that we can continue our scientific testing? :cheers2:

 

You're a Hokie with a EE degree. Certainly you can figure out how to create a power outage. I think the bigger problem would be either keeping it legal or not getting caught. Of course with your solar back-up you would have to do it at night, which might aid in the not getting caught part...

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This thread is cracking me up! I have not heard my microwave talk to me. But I do have the urge to start unplugging it before I go to bed... just in case...

 

We did, however, purchase Fisher Price walkie talkies not long ago, and one of them talked to us. It sounded like Arabic, or maybe Spanish. Once I turned them off and back on, they were silent.

 

(Also have to add an easy microwave cleaning tip: Cut up a lemon into chunks, put in a bowl, and microwave for a couple minutes. Let it sit in the microwave for a minute or so, then wipe out the microwave. Works pretty good.)

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