Whistle

THE INSTRUMENT 

A whistle is an instrument which uses a stream of gas (usually air) to make a sound. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ.

At the turn of the eighteenth century, a cylindrical, drinking vessel with a hinged lid for ale or beer, was widely used in Europe and colonial America. On the handles of many of these tankards were whistles that were baked into their rims or handles. When the customer needed a refill, they blew the whistle to be served. The phrase "wet your whistle" comes from this.

Before the introduction of the whistle in the early 1870s, soccer referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief.

Before whistles were introduced, ice hockey referees used a cowbell. They had to switch to whistles when fans started bringing their own cowbells to disrupt game play.

The whistle used for the opening match at every Rugby World Cup is the one used by Welsh referee Gil Evans for an England versus New Zealand match in 1905.

In 1971, young phone hacker John Draper discovered a way to gain free minutes for long-distance, AT&T calls. He would blow a toy ‘Captain Crunch' whistle, which had the same 2600-hertz tone that indicated a trunk line was ready to be put through, and gain access to additional minutes.

THE SOUND 

Whistling is a common way to attract someone's attention because it produces a loud and distinctive sound that is easy to hear from a distance. This makes it an effective way to communicate with someone who may be too far away to hear your voice or other sounds.

Crafty Romans used to put holes into their slingshot stones in order to scare their opponents by making them whistle and ensure victory.

A whistle is a shrill sound made by forcing the breath through the contracted lips or the teeth. Human whistling unaided by any instrument can be used for musical recreation or a whistled language for communication over distances too great for articulate speech.

The Whistling Boy, Frank Duveneck (1872)

A popular name for an English pub in the middle of the previous millennium was The Pig and Whistle. This originated from servants who were sent out to fetch a pig of ale. They were instructed to whistle as they walk to prevent them from taking some sips during their journey.

Hitler was a keen whistler; he would regularly whistle Disney's "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" - probably because of his "Wolf" nickname.

After Humphrey Bogart died in 1959 a small, gold whistle was placed in his coffin by his wife, Lauren Bacall. It was a reference to the famous line in the movie To Have or Not to Have when she says to him: "You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow".

Here is a list of songs with whistling

ANIMAL WHISTLES 

Each dolphin creates early in its life its own unique vocal whistle that gives it an individual identity. Because each whistle is unique, dolphins are able to call to each other by mimicking the whistle of a dolphin they want to communicate with. It's the equivalent of calling each other by name.

Dolphins can recognize the distinct whistle of their old friends even after 20 years of being separated.

The groundhog habitually gives a warning whistling when it sees a predator. They also whistle during the courtship season in spring.

The blue whale can produce can produce loud whistling calls that reach up to 188 decibels. The noise can be detected over 500 miles (800 km) away.