Wired’s How-To Wiki gets advice from a neuroscientist on how to hear your mobile phone better in a loud crowd, whether indoors or outside. By covering the mouthpiece, you’ll eliminate hearing the noise around you pitched back at you through the speaker, and your brain will have a clearer shot at singling out the voice on the line. Just remember to take your thumb off the mouthpiece before talking again, of course. Photo by gwaar.