Ever notice that right before a storm is about to hit the birds go silent? All of a sudden, an eerie blanket of quiet descends all around you, and you know something ominous is going to occur. For us it could mean a storm, a hurricane, or some other natural disaster. For all of our gifts as human beings, we are the last creatures on earth it seems to sense when something momentous is coming to pass.

Scientists believe that this is because animals have a better sense of sound and vibration than we do. They can sense when the barometric pressure drops or when low pressure systems are coming, and they react appropriately. Sharks swim to deeper waters. Animals go into hiding. Bees go into their hives. And the birds stop singing.

One physicist, Amos Dolbear, even noted that you can tell tempe…