Echo Circle

This unique feature of the University of Cincinnati’s campus is a quirky attraction for students. When standing in the very center of the circle, your voice will echo back to you. However, others around you will only hear your normal voice. This spot may seem magical, but is actually easily explained by physics. The sound you hear is in fact not an echo at all. When the sound waves of your voice travel out to the ledge surrounding the circle they all hit the ledge at the same time. Therefore, all these waves travel back and reach the center of the circle at the same time too. So what you hear is an amplification of your voice, not an echo. It is almost like speaking into a microphone, but the only person hearing your voice amplified is you.