The Times of London newsroom is playing typewriter sounds to motivate journalists

Like paddling a warship in time to a beating drum, so is the sound of a typewriter to reporters. But because real typewriters are inconvenient to use and heavy to pack in a messenger bag, the Times management has opted to using a speaker to synthesize the nostalgic noise. The Independent reports that the speaker came as a surprise to the journalists, broadcasting a noise described thusly: “The audio begins with the gentle patter of a single typewriter and slowly builds to a crescendo, with the keys of ranks of machines hammering down as the paper’s print edition is due to go to press.”