It's DEFINITELY "Laurel", not "Yanny"....unless you do this

Okay, let's put an end to the debate.  The word is "laurel", not "yanny", and if you disagree I'm sorry but you're wrong.

Obviously, you've seen the debate. Perhaps you've had a fight at work or with your spouse about it.

Laurel vs. Yanny.

Okay, on top of the obviously poor sound recording affecting your perception of the word, there's some science here behind how we hear vocal tones.  The word "laurel" requires some bassier undertones (the L R L sounds), so if you focus on the lower frequencies you're going to hear the word laurel.  However, if you're more attuned to the higher frequencies, it does sound a little bit more like a robotic version of the word "Yanny".

Now, want it to get even more interesting?

We pitched the word down by 30% (a trick we can do just using some simple audio editing software). And guess what?

NOW it sounds like "Yanny", right? At least it does to me.

Anyway, let the debate range on.

I still say laurel.