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If you haven’t checked this little piece of New York strangeness out yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. Known as the Whispering Gallery, it’s a part of Grand Central Station that, when there’s no noise about, sends the smallest sounds rocketing across the room. A whisper sounds as if someone is talking right next to you.

The location is right outside the Oyster Bar, which is a very busy place, so it’s hard to test the theory, unfortunately. If you do get a chance, the way to do it is to have two people stand at two pillars that are diagonal from each other. Then make a noise and the other person can hear it clearly.

While structures with odd acoustics such as this aren’t completely rare in the world, the real question lies in whether the original architect designed the Whispering Gallery like this on accident or on purpose. That question, sad to say, will likely never be answered.

Photo courtesy of Ian Gratton via Wikicommons