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I don't think so and I don't see any mention of it being compared to a jet engine.

The article compares it to a sledgehammer, ambulance siren or a gunshot. A gunshot of which is not a continuous sound.

Regardless, it is impressive that a 12mm fish can produce such a loud sound regardless of whether it is continuous and/or throughout our frequency range of hearing.

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It really does matter how far away the sound measurement is taken. 12mm vs. 1000mm away is not trivial for this "decibel" number to make any sense, contextually.

140dB at 12mm is equivalent to 100db at 1000mm. So that's 20dB less than an "ambulance" or "jackhammer" as listed here[0]. Which definitely would make the article misleading.

0: https://noiseawareness.org/info-center/common-noise-levels/

You are right, 100db is only like a motorcycle. As loud as a motorcycle but only 12mm? Not Impressed! Get it together little fish!

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