Earworm

Earworm may also refer to the Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm).

Earworm, a literal translation of the German Ohrwurm, is a term for a song stuck in one's head, particularly an annoying one. Use of the English translation was introduced by James Kellaris , an associate professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati. His studies appeared to demonstrate that different people have varying susceptibilities to earworms, but that almost everybody has been afflicted at some time or another.

The phenomenon has entered popular culture and occasionally been parodied, for example in the film Shrek where a parody of the song "it's a small world" by the Sherman Brothers appears.

A specially-composed earworm ("Tenser, said the tensor...") plays a central role in the science-fiction novel The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.

See also

• Meme
• Badger Badger Badger for an example
• Bananaphone for another
• List of self-referential songs

External links

• EarwormCollider - Ohrwurmbeschleuniger — Musical Particle Accelerator by the art group //////////fur////.
• Maim That Tune — a website that offers alternative tunes which, albeit annoying, are likely to drive any other tune from the victim's head.