How loud can sound really get? The human ear can safely hear up to around 120 decibels. Beyond that, it starts to hurt. At 150 decibels, eardrums can rupture. But history has witnessed sounds far ...

On August 27, 1883, the eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia produced the loudest sound ever recorded in human history. At 10:02 am, a cataclysmic explosion was heard over 4,800 kilometres away, from ...