When You Stand Here, No One Can Hear You Speak

Opened in the early 1980s, the Boston Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, otherwise known as the Center of the Universe, is an important civic-space and first-day visitor destination in Downtown Tulsa. It serves as a passageway to hundreds of employees each day and as a gathering place to many others.

The "Center of the Universe" — is a strange acoustic phenomenon located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you stand at the right spot, which is on top of the centre concrete circle, and start speaking or yelling, your voice will echo wildly, no matter how soft or loud you try to speak. But to listeners outside, your voice completely disappears.

The 'Centre of the Universe' refers to a small concrete circle that sits within a larger circle of bricks. Extending from the centre concrete circle (about 76cm/30inches in diameter) is another circle of 13 bricks which is also surrounding by another circle and so on. In total, the full 'Centre of the Universe' is about 2.5 metres (8 feet) in diameter. In other words, it is just concrete and bricks forming a circle on the ground with nothing extra or special added to it.

LOCATION

The Center of the Universe is located exactly northwest from the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and north of the Willams Center Tower. So the next time you’re in Tulsa, get in that circle and give a holler.

Location: 20 E Archer St, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Thanks for watching.

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[broncobilly]

Thank you for sharing. I just heard of this watching Tulsa King. I appreciate the explanation.

[c.blakerockhart]

Been there. If you are outside the circle you CAN hear what is said inside the circle. But you WON'T hear the ECHO. Most of the videos about this place get these facts wrong.

[thefrub]

You always make videos about things that I've genuinely never heard of and you put in so much research. Thank you for making our days a little better

People outside the circle CAN hear you speak. That’s misleading! They just don’t hear the echo like the person within the circle does. I live in Tulsa & go downtown quite frequently. I’m familiar with it.

[MuNky]

Came here after watching that episode of Tulsa King. Stallone's character, a mafia tough guy, confessing a personal secret in the circle in a moment of vulnerability was a touching scene. I enjoy shows/movies where cities out of the usual Hollywood spotlight is the stage to an engaging story...similar like Albuquerque in Breaking Bad.

[Engelbird]

Hell, I could stand anywhere and no one will hear me.

[broocksregan]

This is the type of place a 3 letter group would place a mic so that there are no private conversations.

[FedUPwithPPL]

You would think the city would fix the brick being a tourist attraction

[littlelebowskiurbanachieve]

Was actually just there. From outside the circle, you can hear people inside the circle. So it’s bunk.

[et]

You would think they would fix the missing tiles and make it presentable for tourists. How lazy are local councils....

[eblodd]

It's due to how the tiles are positioned, they will reflect sound waves toward the center and mix them up in the process. I've ran to similar structures before. Another way this can happen is on a wall with waves. Or a slight slope with horizontal lines going thorough. The harder the material the more it will reflect sound.

[edforthought]

We have an "echo" drain here in my home town. Same principle in a tiered outlook with a storm drain in the middle. I suspect many locations contain echo chambers and you don't need to go to Tulsa.

[I.____.....__...__]

Yeah, I'm _still_ confused about a couple of things about this. (1) How does it block sound when the barrier is only about a foot high, shouldn't the sound carry over them? 🤨 (2) Why is it called the center of the universe? 🤔

[garyschmitz]

There used to be something similar inside Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee, Minnesota. but it was a shallow dome in the ceiling..

[signsoflove]

It brings that many tourists, yet they can’t keep up the proper maintenance, and just blacktop where the bricks were missing? 😂

[ThomasAndersonbsf]

the one thing you did not mention is if you are standing on opposite sides from the center you hear the other persons voice echo, while they hear yours, and each of you hear no echo from your own voices. (because you are now in the central location for the other persons echo to collect :) )

[BeauTylerMakesMusic]

This is nonsense from the show Tulsa King. If you’re in the right spot you can hear a ton of reverb that amplifies the volume for yourself beyond what others can hear… but everyone else still hears you just as usual.

[cadderley]

Why do I only know about this because of Sly Stallone? An interesting place to make the yearly confessions.

[WizardOfWhoopee]

Similar to the TNT Domes in Point Pleasant WV, where the Mothman lives.

[wheresdalove]

Woah I just thought the lady was messing with stallone’s character in the show