“Studies have shown that listening to the sound of beavers enthusiastically munching on white cabbage can temporarily reduce stress levels by up to 17%,” @DickKingSmith tweeted last fall. (The account is maintained by the family of the late children’s book author, who wrote the story that inspired the critter-filled farmyard movie Babe). The post, accompanied by a video of a rodent enjoying a cabbage buffet, went viral and was clearly untrue—but nodded toward the bizarre calming effect some people experience while listening to the sounds of animals ingesting food.