Came across something from Covid era that made me think of the What Kind of World Do We Live In? thread. Short excerpt below
The principal at Whittier Elementary in Northwest Washington was the first to contact the fire department. Students’ smoke detectors kept chirping in the background of virtual classes. The problem seemed widespread at the elementary school of more than 300 students, and the principal sought help from the fire department on how to address the low batteries in smoke detectors.
But soon after, other school leaders across the city starting calling, too, according to Tony Falwell, fire marshal and deputy chief at the D.C. fire department. Smoke detectors in homes were disrupting classes across the city, and to Falwell — an experienced firefighter in the department’s fire prevention division — that meant that homes were more susceptible to dangerous fires.
And while the teachers heard it, the parents and students at the homes seemed so accustomed to the incessant noise that they didn’t notice it.
“As soon as you hear it, you need to address it,” Falwell said in an interview. “Because if you continue to ignore it, it just becomes background noise.”
Many people ignore constant chirping that warns them their potentially life-saving alarm isn’t working. Pretty scary. (Also, I don’t know how people could even do that - I like quiet though, and most people seem to live in much noisier environments than me).