This weekend we were playing our favorite game: “What?”  This is where you go to different rooms in the house, they don’t have to be far apart and actually rooms right next to each other makes it more fun, then one of you says something to the other, and the other yells, “What?” back.  Whoever can get the other to say “What?” the most times wins!  Variations on the game include, “Huh?” and “Damn it, come in here if you want to talk to me!”

The game gets more fun the older you get, and the louder the TV gets.  Being in the room with the TV is an advantage if it’s your turn to get the other to say “What?”  Even though they do lose their hearing as they get older, it’s not as much fun to play with the dog.  They can’t respond with “What?” and you always end up going into the room where they are to get their attention. Unless you open some cheese.  I don’t care how old my dogs have gotten, they can hear me open cheese in the kitchen from the upstairs bedroom.

This reminds me of an article I read a while back on animals that can hear better than humans.  I broke a couple myths I’ve always believed were true.

How many of you were at the NSA Winter Conference in Austin, TX in 2016?  It was so cool to go down to the river at twilight and watch all the bats fly out for their evening meal.  It turns out, bats are neither blind nor deaf.  They have eyes that can see, but in much darker conditions than humans.  They also can hear the echoes of the sonar they put out, and are genetically prevented from going deaf as they age.

So, good luck during your next game of “What?” and remember not to play it with teenagers, they don’t care what you’ve said enough to respond.