I visited Japan once on a study tour way back in the day, and if there's one thing I took away from that experience, it's that Japanese arcades are eff'n LOUD. I couldn't help but wonder how those kids were able to play Dance Dance Revolution or other rhythm games while deaf. Apparently, the media wondered at this as well, and decided to conduct an unscientific test as to the safety of Japan's numerous pachinko parlors.

The testers got a group of people to play the balls, measuring the noise with a dosimeter and and checking to see who would notice the sounds of their cellphones, shouting, or a fire alarm. The average sound level reached about 92 decibels, about the same as standing under a passing commuter train. Though people near the parlor's entrance could hear a person yelling "Fire!", the sound of a fire alarm could barely be distinguished from the pachinko machines themselves, ensuring that people near the back of any given parlor would burn horribly.

Incidentally, the World Health Organization suggests that exposure to 92 decibels and above could cause hearing loss over extended periods. Pachinko machines should really STFU, lest their customers get themselves killed. To see more evidence of pachinko's deadly qualities, hit the jump for a special public service announcement from Gainax, creators of Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann.