Why Do Minnesotans Capitalize The ‘B’ In Decibel’s Abbreviation?

I learned something new this week. Have you ever wondered why when we abbreviate decibels we capitalize the 'B' but when we abbreviate things like centimeters or inches they end up with both letters being lowercase (cm or in)? Well, there is a specific reason for the capitalized B, it's a name, and it's proper to capitalize the first letter in a last name.

The bel portion of the word decibel honors a pioneer in sound and communication. Alexander Graham Bell.

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ScienceDirect.com gives more detail into the word.

Decibel is the most commonly used unit of measurement for noise. The word “decibel” is made up of two parts where deci comes from the “Decimus,” a Latin word, which means “tenth” and the other part is bel, which honors Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone and also concerned about deaf people's difficulties.

That's pretty cool, and makes a ton of sense when you think about how much Bell did in his field of work, so why not honor him by naming the measuring system, in part, in his honor?

Have you ever heard of the 6dB rule?

The 6dB rule is often referenced with children who are hard of hearing.

The John Tracy Center, which deals with children's hearing issues states that the 6dB rule is:

shows the impact of distance on listening. When distance doubles (is greater), a speaker’s voice decreases by 6 decibels. When distance is halved (is less), the voice of the person speaking increases by 6 decibels.

You can learn more about that rule, and children's hearing loss by going to the John Tracy Center website here.