David MacAnally/Eyewitness News
Lafayette - An Indiana high school is going high tech and high pitch to clear out jammed hallways.
Officials at Lafayette Jefferson High School have installed a box that creates a high-pitched buzz that is aimed at keeping students moving.
"It's been described in a number of ways. I can't hear it," said assistant principal Roger Francis.
That's because the noise from the box has a target audience, students who called the buzzing "really horrid" and "screechy."
"It kind of hurts your ears walking down the hall like, 'What is that?'," said one student.
It's called the "mosquito" - an electric box on the wall over a main hall where Francis says students converge between classes. He's concerned that in an emergency, the students could be blocking an evacuation route as they stand around talking.
He hopes the mosquito's bite gets them moving. In Great Britain, young loiterers scattered when a Welsh inventor's noisemaker was set up outside businesses. Now, his "mosquito" is biting worldwide - and Lafayette Jeff may be the first school to use it indoors.
"If you are under the age of 25, you can hear it, but over 25, probably not," Francis said.
The sound is emitted at 17 kilohertz, which for many adults' aging ears no longer detect sounds at that level. Adults can hear 16 kilohertz, but they begin wearing out and can't hear the 17 kilohertz level.
Francis says students are still standing, "but for the most part they are moving."
"Initially, it seemed to be working, but lately, the students have just gotten used to it," said a student.
But the $800 item is still music to many adult's ears. The school says research shows no health effects from the short term exposure. But one downside is that students around the country are using the sounds teachers can't hear as ringtones on their cell phones.
