Gen Xers and boomers will remember the musical powerhouse that was Janet Jackson in the late 1980s.
But now her music has been found to have a new power it can crash laptops.
Specifically, Chen recalls a colleagues tale from Windows XP product support.
An unnamed major computer manufacturer discovered that playing the video would crash certain models of laptops.
Even weirder, playing the music video on one laptop resulted in a crash of another laptop nearby.
So why did the song cause computers to crash?
40% off TNW Conference!
This caused the laptop to crash.
This is known asvibration resonance.
Larry Osterman (@osterman)August 14, 2022
The phenomenon not only affects computers.
It caused the bridge to swing, twist, and eventually collapse.
Soldiers marching in unison across a bridge can also create vibrational resonance.
In 2011, the TechnoMart shopping mall in Seoul was evacuated in response to 10 minutes of swaying.
Mall officials originally suspected a localized earthquake.
The scenario wassuccessfully replicatedusing 17 middle-aged participants who exercised to the song for five minutes.
Enthusiastic dancing in unison at gigs can also causevibrational resonance.
It all brings another meaning to the termgood vibrations.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
