History Main / BrownNote

* Due to the nature of work with Thermodynamics being pessimistic, statistical mechanics is infamous for the number of famous suicides among the scientific founders. One text book has this as the opening paragraph.

** Also reading about yawning. Having stopped yet?
** Slowpoke used Yawn! *player yawns*

* In ''Videogame/MassEffect'', this is why only strong willed individuals such as Shepard are able to withstand experiencing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0F9Bq2kGk the Prothean Beacon]] and keep their sanity, as the sheer intensity of the vision has the potential to "destroy a lesser mind".

*** The Obyriths in 3.5 are a species of demons modeled universally on [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian concepts]]: to look on them is to invite madness and insane terror, even in those otherwise magically immune to such emotions. Dagon evokes terror of the sea, Ugudenk the Squirming King causes any viewer to realize he can burst from the ground at any time and thus to be terrified of the ''ground'', etc. The most powerful of the Obyriths was supposed to be Obox-Ob, the first of the species (and thus one of the oldest things in the multiverse) who has a shape that could be very roughly analogued to something like a titanic scorpion, but with the head and tails (yes, plural) switched around, and horrible tentacle-tongues and worse. But the deadliest of the Obyriths, insomuch as their ability to cause madness, is Pale Night. Called the Mother of Demons, exactly what that title refers to is unclear. She takes the shape of a softly curvaceous humanoid female, wrapped in a billowing shroud: while translucent, the shroud is thick enough that the only sight you can ever catch of her is the obscured humanoid one. Attempting to pull the shroud aside and see her true form is difficult, but if you do manage it, you must immediately make a saving throw. Success means you ''failed'' to understand what you saw beyond the veil: your mind simply blanks for a moment before the shroud blocks your view again. Failure means you ''understand'' what you see: a shape so alien, horrifically indescribable and anathematic to all existence that you are instantly slain. What's more, if a victim of this effect is brought back to life or magic is used to communicate with his spirit, he is unable to describe what he saw; mortal terms simply cannot describe it. As it happens, the shroud isn't even Pale Night's doing: it's something ''reality itself'' imposes on her to cloak her true shape as a way of protecting ''the rest of existence''. Oh, and the tactic she opens every fight with? Suppressing the shroud for a few seconds. Even the Far Realm, home to true Lovecraftian horrors in the D&D mythos, is not as innately lethal to witness (though entering it can do [[AndIMustScream worse than just kill you...]] )
*** And the Devils have their own example, from second edition up to 3.5 in the form of Asmodeus and the tale of the Serpent's Coil. Supposedly, the Asmodeus all creatures understand to exist isn't the real thing, but rather a highly advanced illusion, or an avatar. The King of Hell's true form is that of a titanic, miles-long ''something'' (in 2nd edition, an impossibly vast serpent, and Over-Deity) that was hurled down into Hell from the Celestial Realms long ago. Asmodeus' impact into Baator is what split the plane into nine layers (and before the 3.5 retcon, each of these layers was ''infinite'' in any direction except up and down). Asmodeus' true body came to rest in a tunnel of rock hundreds of miles long created by his landing, called The Serpent's Coil. And it rests there still, slowly recovering its strength. Hearing this story didn't harm the listener at all, but anyone who told the tale of Asmodeus' "True Form" died within 24 hours. '''Anyone'''.

** [[SchmuckBait And that joke is]]: [[spoiler: "Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!"]] This cannot really be coherently translated given that it involves many seemingly nonexistent words, but if searches through online German-English dictionaries are any indication then whatever they're talking about apparently involves both dogs and pinball, [[NoodleImplements and one can only imagine the possibilities of what humor could be made of that]].

* Jacqueline Carey's ''KushielsLegacy'' books feature the "Name of God", a powerful word that contains within it the secrets of the nature of the entire world... or something like that. Carey resorts to some very clumsy cheats in order to avoid printing the Name. Whenever it is spoken, it appears as "____________".

** Given that our early hominid ancestors would've only experienced infrasound when something very, ''very'' big and dangerous (e.g. an elephant, hippo or rhino) was vocalizing nearby[[hottip:*:or during an earthquake, which is dangerous in its own right]], it makes sense that we ''would'' find the associated tactile sensations unnerving.

** Sadly, while this idea was first presented as an "adult-proof" ringtone, any number of teenagers discovered, to their sorrow, that it really isn't. Some people in their thirties can hear it just fine. While it is true that, in general, the older you get the harder it is to hear, there is no single point after which no one can hear it, and before which, everyone can. It depends on the degree of deterioration of that person's hearing. Since most modern youth listen to music at pretty high volumes, they'll soon stop hearing that ringtone.

* Under the right conditions, parts 1, 4, 5, and 6 of Jliat's ''Still Life #5: 6 Types Of Silence'' would cause electrical fires in the sound system they were being played through. The album had to be packaged with a disclaimer.

* ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''

** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0859.html #859]], Durkon casts ''Holy Word'', described under ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', on the Linear Guild, banishing Sabine and striking everyone else deaf. The only member to come out unscathed is Tarquin, whose hit dice are apparently higher than Durkon's caster level. The deafness also affected Belkar, causing [[OhCrap an interesting result]] when Nale cast ''suggestion'' on him to get him to stop stabbing him. Roy, who came up with the whole plan, snarks:

* A seemingly harmless bard in Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''{{Foundation}}'' series at one point plays a song with massively nasty effects on the listeners. [[spoiler: Subverted eventually, with the revelation that he's the telepathic BigBad and the music just enhanced powers he already had.]]

* Parodied on ''Series/{{Community}}'', where Jeff warns the group not to look at Annie when she turns on the PuppyDogEyes. Abed doesn't think they'd work on [[TheSpock him]], until Jeff puts it in terms [[MetaGuy he'd understand]]; ''"She's the [[Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk Ark of the Covenant]]!"''
* {{Devo}} performed a live cover of "In Heaven" from ''Eraserhead'' in 1979, with Mark Mothersbaugh as Booji Boy on vocals. In the middle of the song Booji would give a speech about future "holographic" Devo concerts, which would include the following feature: "And we'll past out diapers at the door for everyone, so that when you all get in here, we'll turn on the sub-sonic frequencies, and we'll all sh*t our pants together!"

* The FatherBrown story "The Blast of the Book" has a book that supposedly causes anyone who tries to read it to vanish into thin air and never be seen again. [[spoiler: It's actually all just an elaborate practical joke.]] RobertAntonWilson brazenly plagiarizes this in MasksOfTheIlluminati
* ''The Ultimate Melody'' by ArthurCClarke revolved around a scientist attempting to reproduce the primal tune from which all music is derived. He succeeded, but on hearing the song [[EarWorm caught it in his head for the rest of his life]], rendering him catatonic. On discovering him, his assistant shut off the machine playing the tune, and it was dismantled before it could be reactivated; the assistant was [[DisabilityImmunity immune to the effect due to being tone-deaf]].

* In Creator/JackKirby's ''NewGods'' mythos (and consequently TheDCU), there is the ''[[DivideByZero Anti-Life Equation]]''. This is a fundamental mathematical proof that life is not worth living, thus allowing the wielder to destroy the wills of any being by simply exposing them to it. Most recently a major plot point in the ''FinalCrisis'' event.

* An episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' featured the "digital" Pokemon, Porygon. The surreal nature of the episode resulted in a certain pattern of repetitive red and blue flashes which are known to cause epilepsy; 685 children were taken to hospitals after complaining of blurred vision, headaches, dizziness and nausea, and some of them even had seizures, blindness, convulsions and unconsciousness. Laws now are on the books that animators can't have flashes that fast, and the episode is the reason health warnings in video games and before the beginning of anime remind the viewer to watch in a well lit room and keep back; many of the cases were due to the kids being glued to the TV and the lights turned down low.

--->The second worst is that of the Azgoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Gruthos the Flatulent of his poem "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in My Armpit One Midsummer Morning" four of his audience died of internal hemorrhaging, and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Gruthos was said to be "disappointed" by the poem's reception, and was about to recite his masterpiece, "Some of My Favorite Bathtub Gurgles", when his small intestine, in an attempt to save galactic civilization, leapt into his skull and throttled his brain.
** ''Literature/TheRestaurantAtTheEndOfTheUniverse'': The "Total Perspective Vortex" (a machine that displays a map of the entire universe with a tiny beyond microscopic dot pointing out where you are) causes anyone run through it to feel so insignificant that they go mad (except Zaphod, and that was under special circumstances).

* Something similar to the above is this: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxeoLhLdqnQ a 10 minute track]] of nothing but the beat-of-four drums the Master of ''Series/DoctorWho'' has been hearing all his life. Listening to this just for the whole ten minutes is unnerving. Now imagine having to hear it for your entinre life. (And timelords have long, long lifes.)

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Is There In Truth No Beauty". Anyone seeing the true form of a Medusan becomes dangerously insane. An example of the [[SurrealHorror surreal]], {{Twilight Zone}}y, SpaceIsMagic philosophy that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' started out with. The old writers didn't feel any need to [[HandWave "explain"]] everything, much less with the same TechnoBabble every week. The Medusans don't emit dangerous radiation or anything, they're just supposed to ''look so weird that you'll lose your mind if you see one.'' (When traveling among [[FiveRaces mundanes]] they hide in little coffins like [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]].)

* On the Lockdown episode of ''{{The 4400}}'', there was a fairly literal example of a brown note. In the episode, T.J. Kim, one of the 4400, had the ability to send out a frequency that caused extreme violence, paranoia and aggression... however, it only affected men. It was to the point where completely ordinary, even meek men were scrambling to kill anything that moved out of fear it would kill them first.

** When the BBC revamped its weather forecast from a 2D map of the UK bearing abstract symbols to a CG representation of the country which filled the screen, and which quickly and dizzyingly changed focus as the weatherperson moved around the country, many viewers complained that the sense of disembodiment this caused made them feel ill. It didn't help that rainfronts moving across the country were portrayed as fast-moving blue watery waves, which generated the illusion that a satellite was watching large tracts of land being covered by devastating tsunamis. People would anxiously ring up asking if we were all about to die. It is still oddly disconcerting even now, several years on.

* ''TheLordOfTheRings'' universe has the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3VtzMxmPs0 Nazgul's screeching]].

** Except it is not. It's just that people eventually get tired of doing LPs if there is nothing "new" to provide. IWBTG is just an annoyance factor that is nearly unplayable considering its FakeDifficulty happens thanks to all the concealed traps. It is even dumber how people even consider that a game.

* In ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', Havoc, AnthropomorphicPersonification of Mass Hysteria. Looking at his true form will terrify ponies so badly they'll likely never sleep again. His ''voice'' will reduce them to horrified wrecks.