16 October 2026 · Built with Claude
Emptying the dishwasher
Put each thing away where it lives. In the right place it sounds its material: glass rings, plates chink, pans clang, tubs knock. In the wrong place it clunks. Rush and it gets louder. There's always one thing that fits nowhere.
Cupboards
Pick something up from the rack.
Dishwasher
Drag a thing to its cupboard, or tap it and then tap where it goes. Keyboard: Tab to a thing, Enter to pick it up, then Tab to a cupboard and Enter.
Unloaded
Notes
You know what fell over in the next room before you look. William Gaver called this everyday listening: hearing the event and the thing (glass, metal, something hollow), not the pitch and the loudness. A dishwasher is a full set of materials, so it's a good game to play by ear.
Each sound is built from a few resonances. Glass has high ones that ring for a while. Plates have more of a chink. Pans are low and long. Plastic barely rings at all. Cutlery is several quick hits at once. Put things down quickly and they come out louder and brighter. Take your time and they come out softer. When the rack is empty, you can hear your own unload played back, in the rhythm you did it.
From an older list of daft ideas that happen to make a noise, next to Elephants can't jump and a dog-walking game. All the sounds are synthesised as they're played, so no two are quite the same.