Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with whistle

pleas don't whistle while I work

harkin banks — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:41:51 -0800

How can I stop a compressed gas regulator from whistling? At work we use these every day to evaporate small quantities of solvents from test tubes full of sample. The evaporators are in the hood; we pipe dry nitrogen to them from a regular lab-sized size T cylinder, chained right next to the hood. The problem is that no matter how I adjust the regulator on the gas cylinder, it emits a high-pitched whine that IMO is more than just annoying -- it may pose a hazard to anyone with chronic exposure to the sound.

The evaporator requires low-pressure gas (not to exceed 2 psi), and when it's operating the flowrate is probably liters per minute. (Unfortunately I don't have a flowmeter that goes that high.) I think the problem is that most laboratory regulators are not designed to supply such high flowrates. I've tried three regulators like this one that I had lying around, all with different second-stage delivery pressures, but all of them make the same noise.

So, my questions: Is there something I can do to reduce the noise emitted by my current regulator? Or, if not, what are the magic words that I should look for in a replacement regulator?

Songs with whistling in them?

Effigy2000 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:11:29 -0800

Please recommend to me some songs that have whistling in them? My partner and I were listening to Monty Python's 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' song the other day and found ourselves enjoying whistling along to the whistling bit. She then remarked that there weren't enough songs with whistling in them. I had a bit of a think about it and y'know what? I can't think of a single other song that does.

I'm sure there are plenty of songs with whistling in them, so now I'm on a mission; to make and surprise her with a CD that has nothing but songs that have some whistling in it. So can you please recommend any songs that have whistling in them? I'm not looking for some old sea shanty or a wolf-whistle though; I'm talking about mainstream, well known music that has a whistling bit in it, ala 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.'

Thanks in advance!

Peace and Sirenity

papayaninja — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:23:31 -0800

I need a siren whistle, in Vermont, by Friday. Like this. And this.

My friends and I are using one for an avant-garde poetry band for our school's open-to-everyone concert type thing. We had a nice green one like in that picture, but I lost it. They're cheap as heck, but no brick-and-mortar store seems to have them. Online would be great, but two-day shipping is something like 20 bucks for a 60 cent toy... I don't think so.

I've tried both VT Toy and Hobbies, Toys R Us, and one, extremely sketchy, music store.

Who knows where I can get one, for cheap, in two days?

P.S. If somebody had one in stock, I'd almost be willing to spend a disgusting amount on a nice, metal, ACME siren, but again, where are they?

Traffic whistles in Chicago?

ab3 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:47:15 -0800

What kind of whistle do Chicago traffic-control officers use? Just came back from a vacation in Chicago. One thing that really caught my attention was the incredibly loud, clear whistles used by their traffic control personnel - TMA officers, I believe - while directing traffic on the streets downtown.

I'm a rollerderby referee, and our events can be very loud, so having an commanding, clear whistle is important. I currently use a Fox 40 Classic and a Storm, and this was, to my ear, louder and clearer than either of those. Anyone know what brand of whistle they use, and if so, where to get one?

What is my (whistling) malfunction?

timepiece — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:47:15 -0800

Why can't I produce the classic taxi whistle (you know, two fingers in mouth, very loud)? And I've just spent quite a while in the attempt, following these directions. Last night, after seeing this question and the link to Google Answers therein, I spent quite a while attempting to produce this whistle. No go.

So, why not? There are two basic possibilities, I guess:
1 - despite detailed instructions, I'm not doing it right
2 - my particular anatomy does not enable me to do this
2a - my tongue is ... larger than average, and my orthodontist says I'm a "tongue thruster". Relevant?
2b - My tongue is currently pierced. Although, I remember trying this years ago, and couldn't do it then either (the directions may have been lacking at the time). During the initial healing period, I was unable to whistle at all, but once the longer barbell was replaced with a shorter one, my regular whistling ability returned.

So, ability or anatomy? Is it possible to be physically incapable of producing this sound in this manner?

How did this particular whistle develop?

Oriole Adams — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:11:52 -0800

I'm looking for the origin of certain whistle tones. That is, how did the two note ascending and descending whistle ("wolf whistle") become the sound of appreciation for a comely female? Also, how would you describe the three-note whistle that most folks make with two fingers applied to the lips (which I cannot do!) that indicates "Hey!" or "Pay attention!" ? Anyone know the history of that whistle? One last whistle question....this is an actual device, a small silver whistle, and when it's blown it makes a "whoooo" sound. It can be heard near the end of Supertramp's "The Logical Song;" it's also commonly used to punctuate a pratfall. Anyone know what this type of whistle is called?

Compulsive tuneless whistling

mediareport — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:45:35 -0800

Have you ever been able to get someone who constantly, tunelessly whistles to themselves to stop? I recently met someone whose constant, tuneless whistling drove a roommate to leave. By tuneless I don't mean "out of tune" whistling of a song or melody; I mean casual, constant non-melodic whistling, whistling that doesn't go anywhere, doesn't sound like a recognizable anything, but continues almost non-stop anyway. Do folks know they're doing it? Are there programs that try to help them stop? Searching just yields info about annoying machine whistle noises and compulsive Tourette's-like neurological syndromes, but that doesn't quite seem to fit the folks who just go through life filling silence with relatively formless whistling sounds. Has anyone studied this kind of thing?

Name that evocative club tune!

reflexed — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 04:21:15 -0800

NameThatTuneFilter: dance song, no lyrics, makes me think of James Bond and white sandy beaches...and i can whistle it... I heard this gorgeous dance song at a beach party a few weeks back, then again at a bar in Lisbon over the weekend. Tried to use my phone to record a sample, but that didn't work, so I'm whistling the main theme as it shifts here [550 kb MP3].

I think it's fairly mainstream; I checked this thread about James Bond samples but nothing jumped out at me. Any ideas?

Oh Nose!

o2b — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:09:27 -0800

My nose. She will not stop whistling. I went to Denver a few weeks ago, and, as occasionally happens, the dry air made my nose start to whistle. Well, it's 20 days later, and the whistle is still there.

I have tried blowing it, picking it, jamming a q-tip as far as it would into it, and nothing has helped. I breathe deeply in the shower to encourage the moisture to collapse whatever subterranean mucas structure is causing the whistle, but to no avail.

Fortunatey it's not always there -- normal breathing isn't usually enough to activate it, so it's not driving everyone around me crazy. But it's driving ME crazy...

Name that tune!

ZenMasterThis — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 10:52:31 -0800

Can anyone identify this melody? (350 kB .WAV, whistled here) In my head I can hear male vocalists and "metal lite" guitar chords. I think it may be the chorus of some popular anthem from within the past year or so. But if it isn't, I have plans for it!