Complete agreement with lordjeebus. by the way, it's correct that a 5% change in frequency is about a half-step on the chromatic scale. (those who are not musically inclined, a half-step is the smallest difference in the conventional 12-note octave. the two notes in the "Jaws" theme are a half-step apart. sing it to youself. the two notes are almost the same, aren't they?)
Regarding the fact that a 5% change in the earth's rotation would be noticable, of course it would, even without druid calendars and whatnot--animals would probably feel out of whack, i'm sure the delicate ecosystem would undergo strange changes, certain species would disappear, weather patterns would change, etc etc., but ecology and weather are chaotic systems, where small changes can cause dramatic consequences. but if you are on some deserted island with no watches, you're telling me that you would be able to tell the difference if for a few days the earth slowed down by 5%? (you would probably feel like you got a little more sleep than usual, but you could just as easily attribute that to the partying you did the night before). or another example, if you were given a stopwatch that was 5% slower than it should be, would you be able to tell immediately that the seconds were ticking 5% slower than they should?
we are talking about (or WERE talking about) the very perceptible change in sound from hot water to cold water! unless you're going to argue that the change in sound as temperature increases is due to some sort of chaotic mechanism associated with the density of water, 5% is not enough to be significant in this case!
sapper: the null hypothesis is the foundation of the scientific method, but observing phenomena and discerning between significant and insignificant mechanisms at play is a large part in coming up with theories. what do you think we're doing now?? don't you think a few scientists have pondered this exact same question before us, before running whatever experiment they did to prove the point?
finally: i went through the trouble of finding a
site that has viscosity info. the difference in viscosity between ice cold water and water at room temperature is about 200%, while the change in density for the same temperature difference is 0.3%!
Besides I would argue that, if two liquids have the same viscosity but widely differing densities, they would make pretty much the same sound when being poured. if anyone is interested in hearing why, just ask.