One of the more intriguing age-old farming myths is that on a quiet moonlit night, you could go out to your cornfield and hear the crop literally growing. Turns out that’s not true – not exactly.
Corn does indeed make a sound when it grows, as captured recently by this time-lapse video from Douglas Cook at the Crop Biomechanics Lab at New York University Abu Dhabi and Justin McMechan and Roger Elmore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The researchers think the crackling noises occur because of tiny fractures from the corn plant stretching, breaking and growing.
The time-lapse video documents the noises, along with the plant growing an incredible 1.25 inches in just eight hours. Take a look – and listen – for yourself!
