Top 10 Incredible Recordings

Horrible title for a fascinating list of interesting pieces of recorded sound from throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, including a real castrato, one of the highest notes ever recorded originating from a human voice, a Russian exorcism, audio of Florence Nightingale, recordings from the final 30 minutes of Jim Jones' followers' lives, and more.

6. Number Stations

Number Stations (shortwave radio stations of unknown origin) have been reported since World War I and continue to this day. No one knows what their reason is though many people suspect they are coded messages used for espionage (though no country has admitted this). The broadcasts are usually a female voice (though male voices have been heard) and they generally broadcast streams of numbers, words, or letters. They are sometimes apparently random, and other times organised. In the 90's, amateur radio enthusiasts tracked the source of one number station to a US military base. The FCC refused to comment.

Number station recordings are also utilized eerily on Porcupine Tree's album Stupid Dream.