When you hold a seashell to your ear, it’s not the ocean you’re hearing — it’s ambient noise resonating inside the shell’s hollow chamber. This amplification happens through a phenomenon called acoustic resonance.
It’s the same principle behind how musical instruments like cellos, flutes, and even conch shell trumpets produce sound.
In this episode, you’ll hear about a 17,000-year-old conch shell discovered in a French cave, which was likely used as a trumpet by buzzing lips into its end. Plus, we’ll take a quick detour to India, where the conch shell, or shankh, is still played in temples today.
Music in this episode:
Mozart: Horn Concerto no. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495: III.
