Ever had a close encounter with a rattlesnake If so you might have noticed that the sound of the rattle seemed to get more intense as you moved nearer to the viper Research reported in in Current Biology reveals that the venomous reptiles do increase their rattling rate when they think a threat is approaching This ldquo high-frequency mode rdquo can cause us to think they rsquo re closer than they are As one researcher put it ldquo The misinterpretation of distance by the listener creates a distance safety margin rdquo People can sometimes use increasing volume with harsh words [... more]