Earworms
October 21, 2003
University of Cincinnati marketing professor James Kellaris has coined the term Earworms “for the usually unwelcome songs that get stuck in people’s heads. Since beginning his research in 2000, Kellaris has heard from people all over the world requesting help, sharing anecdotes and offering solutions.
“I quickly learned that virtually everybody experiences earworms at one time or another,” he said. “I think because it’s experienced privately and not often a topic of conversation, maybe people really long for some social comparison. They want to know if other people experience what they experience.”
For me, my earworm is the song from Gilligan’s Island or sometimes the Wheel of Fortune rendition of “I’m a Girl Watcher” entitled “I’m a Wheel Watcher”.
What are your Earworms?
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4 comments
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
by Shaun Bledsoe on October 21, 2003 at 12:54 pm. #
Good King Wenceslas has been stuck in my head for the last 5–8 years. No joke. I’ll occasionally be caught humming or whistling it and people to whom I’ve told it about will start laughing.
by Robot Johnny on October 22, 2003 at 9:08 pm. #
John, do you hum it in elevators and or on escalators? Do you hum it in the car or in pub or bar?
Do you hum it everywhere? Out and in, here and there?
Okay, Dr. Suess has officially haunted my thoughts. I’m scared, so very scared.
by kartooner on October 22, 2003 at 11:23 pm. #
Kartooner said:
“Okay, Dr. Suess has officially haunted my thoughts. Im scared, so very scared.”
I have the same disease. I will Dr. Seuss my thoughts and sometimes verbalize them to others, which tends to annoy them. It IS very annoying. I also suffer from earworms. Most are uncommon songs (because I listen to a wide range of music) but some of the common offenders are “Someone saved my life tonight” by Elton John and “Mama Mia” by Abba. My dad used to get the theme from Laverne & Shirley all the time. In fact, we had better mute the TV before the theme played or we would never hear the end of it! Of course, now I AM hearing it…
by mjs on August 10, 2005 at 1:43 pm. #