--- title: Explaining the Green Needle Brainstorm Sensation description: A new TikTok asks people to decided whether they hear “green needle” or “brainstorm”? canonical: https://time.com/5873627/green-needle-brainstorm-explained/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-07-30T14:31:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:30.945Z og:title: ‘Green Needle’ or ‘Brainstorm'? A Puzzling Audio Clip Is Burning Up the Internet og:description: What do you hear? og:url: https://time.com/5873627/green-needle-brainstorm-explained/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff0b80d1c24e5d2f/698a10e3b3fce3a30d0c6ff1/sound-illusion-tik-tok.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2393 og:image:height: 1346 og:image:alt: Green Needle Brainstorm explained og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ‘Green Needle’ or ‘Brainstorm'? A Puzzling Audio Clip Is Burning Up the Internet twitter:description: What do you hear? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff0b80d1c24e5d2f/698a10e3b3fce3a30d0c6ff1/sound-illusion-tik-tok.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘Green Needle’ or ‘Brainstorm'? A Puzzling Audio Clip Is Burning Up the Internet > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 30, 2020 2:31 PM UTC  TikTok/Emily Sophie by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 30, 2020 2:31 PM UTC First there was [the dress](https://time.com/3725356/dress-blue-black-white-gold/) that divided the internet as people around the world [argued](https://time.com/4238688/the-dress-1-year-anniversary-white-gold-blue-black/) that viral photo was [definitely](https://time.com/3725528/dress-explainer-white-gold-blue-black-science/) blue and black or definitely white and gold. ([It was blue and black](https://time.com/3858839/the-dress-viral-study/).) Then came the [Yanny vs. Laurel](https://time.com/5282651/yanny-laurel-sound-voice/) divide sparked by an audio clip of a computer-generated voice saying the word ‘Laurel’ in a deep male voice, or the word ‘Yanny’ in a higher pitch, or perhaps [both words](https://time.com/5279069/yanny-laurel-explanation/) depending on what you wanted to hear. ([It was Laurel,](http://www.insider.com/yanny-vs-laurel-original-vocabulary-com-audio-recording-truth-2018-5) by the way.) Now, comes the next great debate to divide the internet. A TikTok video making the rounds featuring a man’s voice saying either the word “brainstorm” or the words “green needle” and the word you hear seems to depend on which phrase you read on the screen or even which words you are thinking about as you hear them. As _Buzzfeed_ first reported, the video, which was uploaded by TikTok user, [@emilysophie.m](https://www.tiktok.com/@emilysophie.m), has gone massively viral on the platform, racking up 5 million views in just a few days as people try and crack the audio mystery surrounding the clip. As Dr. Kevin Franck, director of audiology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, [told TIME](https://time.com/5279069/yanny-laurel-explanation/)in reference to the great Yanny vs Laurel debate, what you hear “all comes down to the brain.” He said, “The fact that brains go in one way and some brains go in the other means that we’re all just wired a bit differently based on our experiences.” “The brain is built to turn messy signals into meaning,” he says. “It just will not give you ambiguity.” Interestingly, this is not the first time people have waded into a debate over “brainstorm” or “green needle”. The exact same issue was confounding people on Twitter back in 2018, [according to _BuzzFeed_,](https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/brainstorm-green-needle) thanks to a YouTube video of a _Ben 10_ toy, which was then shared on Twitter, where it went viral. > [](https://twitter.com/tomangoUK/status/997095118023942144) While that toy was supposed to be saying brainstorm as it relates to _Ben 10_ costume, it tore the internet apart for a few days. Now it’s back to finish what it started. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5873627/green-needle-brainstorm-explained/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5873627/green-needle-brainstorm-explained/"},"headline":"‘Green Needle’ or ‘Brainstorm'? 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