Wikipedia: ruining my fun since 2001
‘The Aztec skull whistle is a unique and unsettling instrument that has fascinated historians and archaeologists for centuries. These whistles, typically shaped like human skulls, produce a blood-curdling, high-pitched sound that has been described as a “scream of death.”’
So says Brave AI. Just listen to these recordings. Spooky, neh?
You can even buy one from Amazon.
Then along comes Wikipedia:
“The whistle was discovered after the 1999 excavation of an Aztec temple at the Tlatelolco site, in Mexico City by archaeologists, revealed the remains of a 20-year-old sacrificial victim clutching various musical instruments, among them a small ceramic skull-shaped whistle. This artifact, later dubbed the “Aztec death whistle,” gathered public interest.”
Wait, there’s only the one? And it was discovered 25 years ago?
“The whistle’s sounds, analyzed through its functioning mechanism, have been noted to resemble the sound of wind and fall within the human hearing sensitivity range.”
It was dug up in the temple of the wind god Ehecatl, so that makes sense. But, I mean, the screaming?
“A common misconception is that this whistle produced a sharp shriek-like sound. However, these sounds credited as the Aztec death whistle are actually produced by much larger reproductions of the whistle.”
Larger reproductions and, apparently, blown with some kind of intense hydraulic mechanisms. I mean, you could blow a giant whoopee cushion with a foghorn and it would probably sound pretty scary.
I got played :(
Posted: November 26th, 2024 under personal.
Comments: 8
Comments
Comment from MrKnowitall
Time: November 26, 2024, 7:06 pm
I made a 3D printed death whistle from a file I found online. Sounds just like the recordings! I think it would be most effective played at night in the deep woods and heard from a distance.
Comment from ExpressoBold Pureblood
Time: November 26, 2024, 8:14 pm
Hallowe’en is coming !!!!!!
Well…. in about a year.
Keep this contrivance in mind for scary sound effects, though!
Comment from QuasiModo
Time: November 26, 2024, 9:36 pm
You could save it to your phone!…use it for a ring tone, lol.
Comment from Some Vegetable
Time: November 26, 2024, 10:37 pm
Perfect to put on your desk at work.
When some asshole asks what it is, you respond,
“It’s an Aztec Death Whistle; evil demons hate the sound of it. Do you want to hear it?”
If they answer “No” you say “I didn’t think you would.”
If they answer “Yes” -play it. If they say “That sounds horrible!” You respond, “Thought you wouldn’t like the sound.
If they answer “Huh that’s kind of disappointing”, or”That’s not what I expected”, you reply, ” Damn, it doesn’t work!”
90 percent of them will never get the joke….
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: November 26, 2024, 11:00 pm
@Some Vegetable — I admire the way your mind works!
Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: November 27, 2024, 1:06 am
Played, but not like an Aztec death whistle.
Buy a tin whistle instead.
Amuse and irritate your spouse and cats.
It’s kinda like a bagpipe, sorta.
How would I know?
Comment from Veeshir
Time: November 27, 2024, 3:37 am
This blog leads to more weird google ads on my phone since I look for the stuff you blog about.
I’m probably not buying one, but I’ll see probably 20 different kinds at various websites.
Comment from Tim Carlson
Time: November 27, 2024, 6:33 pm
The first thing I thought of when I read “Aztech Death Whistle” was the film ‘Bone Tomahawk’ with Kurt Russell. Be prepared if you watch it – it’s not your standard “cowboys and indians” film. Anyhoo – the natives in the film have implanted a bone, that they have taken from an animal, into their necks and it allows them to make horrifying screeching sounds. Maybe related?
Write a comment
Beware: more than one link in a comment is apt to earn you a trip to the spam filter, where you will remain -- cold, frightened and alone -- until I remember to clean the trap. But, hey, without Akismet, we'd be up to our asses in...well, ass porn, mostly.<< carry me back to ol' virginny