Beginner
Sometimes people feel a lot of stress. Last Saturday, more than 100 people in San Francisco tried something different. They went to the beach and screamed at the ocean.
The event happened at a place called Vista Del Mar. It looks out over Ocean Beach.
A woman named Danielle Egan planned the event. She said she wanted a good scream. She thought it would be more fun with other people.
Before the group scream, there was a contest. People took turns screaming alone. Judges listened to how loud, how long, and how interesting each scream was.
A woman named Olivia Gugliemotto won the contest. Her scream measured 121.9 decibels. That is very loud! The world record for the loudest scream is 129 decibels.
Olivia won a small megaphone as her prize. She said her scream was for “the world in general.”
After the contest, everyone screamed together at the ocean. Many people probably felt a little better.
Vocabulary
- stress — a feeling of worry or pressure
- scream — a loud, sharp cry
- event — something planned that happens, like a party or contest
- judge (noun) — a person who decides who wins a contest
- loud — making a lot of noise
- prize — something you win
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- Do you ever feel stressed?
- What do you do to feel better when you are stressed?
- Would you want to join an event like this?
Intermediate
On Saturday, more than 100 people gathered at Vista Del Mar in San Francisco for an unusual event called “Guttural Scream at the Sea.” Together, they released their frustrations by screaming at the Pacific Ocean.
The event was organized by local resident Danielle Egan. She told a local news outlet that she wanted a good scream, and she thought the experience would be more enjoyable with a crowd. A flyer for the event listed several reasons people might want to scream, including rent, frustration with artificial intelligence, and general stress. As the flyer put it, screaming simply “feels good.”
Before the group scream, organizers held a screaming contest. Participants were judged on the volume, length, and style of their individual screams.
Olivia Gugliemotto won first place. Her scream reached 121.9 decibels, just short of the official world record of 129 decibels. She received a small megaphone as her prize.
Gugliemotto said her winning scream was aimed at “the world in general,” adding that everyday pressures, like being far from family, contributed to her need to let it out.
Vocabulary
- gather — to come together as a group
- release — to let go of a feeling, like stress or anger
- frustration — a feeling of being upset because something is difficult
- organizer — a person who plans and arranges an event
- participant — someone who takes part in an activity
- volume — how loud or quiet a sound is
- contribute to — to be one of the causes of something
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- Why do you think screaming together felt more appealing than screaming alone?
- What are some healthy ways people release stress in your culture?
- Do you think community events like this actually help people feel better?
Advanced
On Saturday, San Francisco’s Vista Del Mar overlook became the site of an unusual form of collective stress relief when more than 100 people gathered for the “Guttural Scream at the Sea,” an event organized by local resident Danielle Egan.
Egan told a local outlet that the idea grew out of a simple impulse: she wanted a cathartic scream and suspected the experience would be more satisfying shared with others. A flyer advertising the event listed a range of everyday grievances, from rent to frustration with artificial intelligence, framing the act of screaming as a mild form of emotional release rather than a protest.
The communal scream was preceded by a screaming contest, in which participants were evaluated on the volume, duration, and style of their individual performances. Olivia Gugliemotto took first place with a scream measured at 121.9 decibels, narrowly missing the official world record of 129 decibels, and was awarded a small megaphone for her effort.
Reflecting on her win, Gugliemotto said the scream was directed at “the world in general,” citing the emotional weight of ordinary pressures, such as living far from family, as part of what she needed to express.
Whether or not a single scream can meaningfully offset modern stressors, the event points to a broader appetite for shared, lighthearted rituals of catharsis.
Vocabulary
- collective — done or shared by a group of people together
- cathartic — providing release from strong or repressed emotions
- impulse — a sudden strong wish or urge to do something
- grievance — a complaint or a reason for feeling unfairly treated
- duration — the length of time something lasts
- narrowly — by a very small amount or margin
- offset (verb) — to balance out or reduce the effect of something
Comprehension Check
Discussion Prompts
- What does the popularity of this event suggest about how people cope with modern stress?
- Do you think framing a scream as “not a protest” changes its emotional or social meaning?
- Can shared rituals like this have a real psychological benefit, or is the effect mostly symbolic?
Original story: “More than 100 people gather in San Francisco to scream at the ocean” by Ben Hooper, UPI (September 14, 2026).
Photo: “Sunset at Ocean Beach in San Francisco” by Brocken Inaglory, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), cropped.