Art by Jon McCormack.
Join Dallas and the McElroy Brothers (hosts of My Brother, My Brother and Me) as they compete to see which brother has the best ear. We dust off our old mystery sounds to test the McElroy's on their knowledge of pop culture, science, and the mundane. Which brother has the best ear? Find out, in this heated and hilarious game... of mystery sounds.
MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE
Highlife (Instrumental) by Chris Valentine
Jane by Alexander Lewis
Thinking About You (Instrumental) by Cody Fry
Feels Good (Instrumental) by Cass XQ
Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound and hosted by Dallas Taylor.
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Check out the McElroy brothers' podcasts My Brother, My Brother, and Me and The Adventure Zone at themcelroy.family or wherever you get your podcasts.
View Transcript ▶︎
Griffin: One, two, check, check, check, check.
Justin: One. Check, check, check. Yes. I'm recording.
Travis: Check. One, two. Check. One, two, three, four.
So, everyone's recording?
Travis: One, two. Yes.
You’re listening to Twenty-Thousand Hertz.
Griffin: One. Check. One. Yes, yes. Check, one, one. Ha ha ha. Great jokes, everybody. Okay. Yeah. I am recording.
Perfect.
[music in]
So this episode is going to be a little different. Long time listeners know that in every show we have a segment in the middle called the Mystery Sound. During the ad break, we play a sound and have listeners write us, telling us what they think that sound is. It’s a fun game and it's always a blast hearing people’s thoughts. Well, we have a long back catalog of Mystery Sounds that many of you might not have heard before. Or, if you haven’t listened all the way through the credits, you may have not heard the reveal. So that’s what this entire episode is all about.
I had the pleasure of playing our past Mystery Sounds for the McElroy brothers, they’re the hosts of the fantastic podcast My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and it was so fun. This show is that conversation. If you’ve already heard all our Mystery Sounds, you’re going to love hearing them try to decipher these clips. And if you’ve missed them in the past, then this is a great time to play along. So without further ado, here are the McElroy brothers in a heated competition over Mystery Sounds.
[music out]
Sweet. So, let's just get warmed up. Play mystery sound number one, and tell me what you think it is.
[Mystery Sound 1 - Zelda Cartridge]
Justin: [Laughs]
I’ll tell you, it's so common that once you hear it you’re gonna…
Justin: Are you messing with me right now?
I’m not, no. I suspect you've heard this a lot. I know I have.
Justin: It sounds like someone knocking over a snare drum. That's my hot take.
Travis: Oh. Really? No. I think it's somebody opening like, a microwavable meal.
Justin: Oh, okay. Yeah. I can hear that.
Travis: Like peeling the plastic back or...
Griffin: I think it's a broken cash register. But, why would I have heard that?
Travis: Yeah, Griffin. That was my next question.
Griffin: Why would I have heard a broken cash ... I don't have a working cash register, around the house.
Justin: Yeah. Let alone one that you'd know if it's malfunctioning or sick.
Griffin: Right. I'll get better at this.
Yeah. We'll get better at this. So, I'll tell you what that is. That is the sound of a Nintendo cartridge going into a Nintendo.
[Mystery Sound 1 - Zelda Cartridge]
Travis: Oh, man.
Griffin: Oh.
Yeah. And then being pushed down.
Justin: Ah, dunk. I look like a real horse's patoot.
Specifically, not that this matters, but it's the original gold Legend of Zelda going into a Nintendo.
Travis: That was my next guess.
Justin: No. Okay. I didn't know that metal cartridges could be part of it. And, the gold is a very different sound. If you had said gold cartridges were part of this at all, that would've been my instant guess.
Of course.
Griffin: Also, we were a Sega family. So, if it would've been the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 plugging into the Sonic & Knuckles expansion cart, we would have nailed that.
Justin: Absolutely.
Travis: Because, Sega does what Ninten-don't.
Griffin: Yeah. We're huge on that.
Okay. Number two has got to be a lot easier. So, okay.
Justin: A lot easier. Okay. Perfect.
[Mystery Sound 2 - AOL Login]
Travis: That's a door.
Justin: No. It's not a door. It's the sound in AOL Instant Messenger when one of your friends logs on to the service.
Griffin: That's babytown easy shenanigans.
Travis: Yes. 100%, that's a ...
Justin: Tell me I nailed that.
That’s it. That's it. Yeah. I need to add a "ding, ding, ding, ding, ding”* [SFX: Bell] *or something.
[Mystery Sound 2 - AOL Login]
Justin: I used to work for AOL, so that one's deep in my heart. We were using that thing way longer than a lot of other people abandoned it. Sort of like people who work for Myspace now are like, "Check out my Myspace. It's right here." Like, "What? Are you kidding?"
Travis: Does more than one person still work for Myspace?
Justin: I'm sure it's Tom and his dad.
Travis: I just assumed there was one person who went in every day, flipped on the Internet switch, let people use it, and then turned it off at night so they didn't waste any power.
So, three is one that I'm not familiar with, but my entire team knew immediately. So, I'm curious where this is going to land with you all. We're on a theme, sort of, right now. So, check out three. [Mystery Sound 3 - Gen 1 Pikachu]
Griffin: That's one of them gen-one Pikachu sounds.
Well there you go. [SFX: Bell]
[Mystery Sound 3 - Gen 1 Pikachu]
Travis: I knew it was a Pokéman, but I'm not surprised that Griffin knew it exactly.
Justin: Dallas, from now on, can you say, "One, two, three, go," so people don't just start listening to it and blurt it out too quickly and kinda cheat?
Oh. That's probably a good idea.
Travis: I thought we were all on the same team. Are we competing? Wait.
Oh, no. This is a comp... I haven't even taken score on this. Actually, that's what we need to do.
Justin: So far, it's Travis zero, me one, Griffin one.
Travis: What?
Justin: Yeah. Sorry.
Okay. What's the score?
Justin: The score is one for Justin, one for Griffin, zero for Travis, a big old stinky goose egg.
Travis: Okay. All right.
There we go. Okay.
Travis: I thought we were just doing a team fun thing, but...
Griffin: Oh. God, no.
Oh, no. It's a competition now.
Travis: Okay. Fine. Cool. Cool.
Okay. So, we're going to move to four, but I'm going to do the "three, two, one.”
Justin: Okay
Okay. So, three, two, one, listen.
[Mystery Sound 4 - The Bloop]
Travis: Oh. That's an ultrasound.
It’s specific.
Griffin: More specific than ultrasound?
Uh-huh, Yeah. I'll give you a hint. It's a scientific sound. I could go further.
Travis: Oh. It's an ultrasound of a fart.
Uh… Maybe.
How about this? I'll say it's underwater.
Travis: Is it an ultrasound of a whale fart?
It could be. We're getting closer. It's in the ocean.
Travis: An ultrasound of a dolphin fart.
It could be. Yeah.
Travis: You can't say, "It could be." It could be anything.
Justin: I'm going to go with dolphin fart so we can move on with our lives.
Griffin: I think it's somebody underwater saying hello.
It could be. So, what this is is the Bloop, which is a very famous underwater sound recorded in the '90s. NOAA had no idea what it was for a while, but they think it's an iceberg that broke away from an Antarctic glacier, and was heard from thousands of miles away on an underwater microphone.
[Mystery Sound 4 - The Bloop]
Justin: So, I'm going to give all of us a point.
Travis: Yeah. Because it could be.
Justin: Because it could be anything, so we all get a point.
Griffin: It sounds like nobody really knows what this sound is.
It could have been a whale fart. It could have been a dolphin fart. It could have been just something birthing underwater. We don't know. So, everybody gets a point.
Justin: Okay
Travis: Okay.
Okay. So, this next one's a person, a voice of a person.
Travis: You just gave it away!
Oh. That is true [laughing].
Travis: You just said ... Hey. It's a voice of a person. I just got a point.
Okay. Who is this person? Three, two, one, listen.
[Mystery Sound 5 - Teller]
Justin: Carl Sagan. [Mystery Sound 5 Continued - Teller]
Travis: Oh. That's Teller.
That’s true. Ding, ding, ding. [SFX: Bell]
Griffin: Oh.
Justin: Wow. Dang. That was good, Trav. Good pull.
Travis: Thank you. Thank you.
Justin: Tied it up. Two all around.
All right. Mystery Sound number six. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 6 - Waterphone]
Travis: It's a singing bowl?
No.
Travis: A theremin.
No.
Justin: No. It's a ...
You’re orbiting it for sure.
Justin: Oh my gosh. I know this. It's a weird instrument.
Travis: Is it a saw?
You’re so close.
Justin: No. It's not a saw.
Travis: Oh. It's a vibraphone?
I’m going to give you a point because that's so close. [SFX: Bell] It's a waterphone.
Justin: Waterphone. Yes.
Which is this metal thing. You put some water at the bottom of it. That's why it goes, "Wobble, wobble, wobble.”
[Mystery Sound 6 - Waterphone]
Griffin: And, we're giving out points for that, huh?
Justin: I got phone.
Griffin: I feel like the metrics for how we're awarding points is changing on the fly.
Justin: I remember this because waterphones are very prominent in ... They use them in horror movies a lot to give that suspenseful sound.
All right. So, back to science.
Justin: Okay. Science category.
This is a tricky one. Okay. So, mystery sound number seven. Three, two, one. Check it out.
[Mystery Sound 7 - Black holes colliding]
Travis: Okay.
Griffin: This is two ultrasounds. How about this? I'll give a point if you can just pinpoint where it would be coming from.
Griffin: Is it outer space? I’m going to give you a point for that. [SFX: Bell]
This is too hard. This is two black holes colliding, and then pitched up.
Travis: That's what I was about to say.
Obviously.
Travis: I was about to say, "Two black holes colliding."
Griffin: What we are hearing is two black holes going, "Oh. Excuse me. Sorry."
[Mystery Sound 7 - Black holes colliding]
Justin: I want to lodge a protest, Dallas, if I may. Can I lodge a formal protest? Is there a spot for that in the program.
Sure. We can make that spot right now. I do see that you are down one point, so I can understand.
Justin: Yeah. And, it's going to get worse. When we agreed to do this, never was I told that nerd stuff would be so important. Could I get one sound of a saw, or like a sports sound, like the sound of a touchdown being occurring?
Travis: Or the sound of a high-five, or the sound of a Corvette with the top down.
Justin: A Corvette revving up.
Griffin: Or just John McEnroe yelling.
Justin: The sound of a Kathy Ireland calendar falling off the wall. These are sounds that I know.
Travis: Yeah. Or just even a cool Pepsi-opening sound.
Justin: Like a cool beer opening, you mean. See? This is the problem with you nerds trying to pretend that you're into cool jock stuff like me. Next sound!
Next sound. Where were we at? Okay. Eight. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 8 - Bald eagle]
Justin: Hugely unpleasant. Seagulls?
Griffin: Capuchin monkey.
No.
Justin: Ooh.
Travis: That is a baby hawk.
No. That's so close.
Justin: Ooh. I like that.
Travis: A baby bald hawk. Baby bald eagle.
There you go. [SFX: Bell] It might be a baby, but it is a bald eagle. So, a point for you.
[Mystery Sound 8 - Bald eagle]
Justin: Good one, Trav.
Travis: Well, I just put a birdbath in my backyard, so I'm kind of an expert now.
Justin: Getting a lot of eagles, are you?
Travis: A lot of eagles.
Griffin: The birdbath is full of dead rats, so ...
Travis: Yeah. No. That's true.
Okay. Number nine. A very common sound for a lot of people. We'll find out if you own any of these things. So, number nine. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 9 - K-Cup]
Justin: Is it a copier or a printer?
No. I'd say you'd find this in your kitchen.
Justin: Oh. In the kitchen. Okay. Is it a mandoline?
Do you find mandolins in your kitchen?
Travis: Like a mandoline slicer, Dallas.
Justin: A mandoline slicer.
Oh. A slicer. I was thinking like Bluegrass.
Justin: Oh. Gotcha. Yeah. No. That wouldn't be in the kitchen. Please.
Griffin: Is it a coffee maker?
I think that's good enough. It's a K-Cup. [SFX: Bell]
Travis: Oh.
Justin: Oh.
[Mystery Sound 9 - K-Cup]
Griffin: You mean a K-Cup that makes coffee?
Exactly.
Griffin: I think that's pretty darn close.
All right. So, number 10. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 10 - Herring fart]
Travis: A rotary phone.
Not close.
Travis: Not close.
Griffin: Is it some sort of living organism making this sound?
Yup.
Griffin: Yes
Justin: Oh. It's a cicada.
It is underwater.
Griffin: Is that a dolphin-
Travis: Fart.
Griffin: -cackle? Travis, I swear to god.
Travis: One of these times, I'm going to be right.
Justin: It's never going to be a dolphin fart.
It’s so close, though.
Justin: Cicada fish.
You know what? The score here is Travis three, Griffin three, Justin two. I think I'm going to give this one to Justin [SFX: Bell], because you did say a dolphin fart, but this is actually a herring fart.
Travis: I said dolphin fart.
Justin: Travis said dolphin fart. Give him the point Dallas, I don’t need charity.
I thought that was Justin.
Travis: I said dolphin fart.
Griffin: It's fine. People get us confused all the time.
Justin: We've been talking for 20 minutes. You should be able to tell our voices apart perfectly at this point.
Okay. That's a herring fart. These fish gulp the air at the surface, and fart. And, scientists think that it's used for communication.
[Mystery Sound 10 - Herring fart]
Justin: I can't believe Travis was right about some sort of aquatic life farting.
Travis: Well, now I can stop guessing it. That's the upside for everyone.
Justin: Yeah. Everyone wins.
As far as I know, there's no more farts in the rest of these.
Travis: A likely story.
Okay. Number 11. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 11 - Koala]
Justin: Oh. That's a pig.
Griffin: I think it's actually a large dog that's struggling with something.
It’s just as cute as a large dog, or cuter.
Griffin: Is that a moose?
No. It's cuter than that. What's the cutest animal?
Travis: The cutest animal.
Yes.
Travis: A baby gorilla.
Not in the Northern Hemisphere. Australia specifically.
Justin: Ah. It's a kangaroo, innit?
No. It's not that either. It's a koala bear.
Justin: It's a koarla.
There it is.
Justin: It's a mongoorse.
Travis: No points for anyone.
No points.
Justin: A koarla. What was it?
Griffin: What was it?
That was a koala bear. Yeah.
[Mystery Sound 11 - Koala]
Justin: So, I got that.
Travis: No, he said koala before you did!
Griffin: Dallas did say it before you said it.
You know, Zoom does funny things. What do you think?
Griffin: Zoom's not a time machine.
That is true.
Travis: I'm going to give it to Justin because I think he needs it. It's a pity point.
Justin: I don't need it.
Justin: I don't need your charity.
You don't need it? You only have two points, though.
Justin: Yeah. I want to keep them just like they are. They're perfect. I don't need them. I'm just going to make a huge comeback right now.
All right. Number 12 in three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 12 - Baby crocodiles]
Griffin: This is a lot of monkeys.
No.
Travis: Is it a living creature?
It is multiple living creatures.
Travis: That is what a panda bear sounds like. I don't know.
Justin: Is that what a panda bear sounds like?
Travis: I don't know. I haven't had a chance to meet one.
Justin: I don't know.
Travis: Wait. Hold on. Hold on. I'm going to say penguins.
I could see that. But, it's actually a bunch of baby crocodiles, of all things.
[Mystery Sound 12 - Baby crocodiles]
Griffin: Whoa . Travis: Oh. You know what? I actually ... Ah. Fart. I knew that. I knew that baby crocodiles sound like laser guns. But, I still don't deserve the point.
Justin: No. Not at all.
Travis: I'm just saying.
Justin: Not at all. So, 13, is that where we're at?
Yeah. The key here is you know the sound, but you've got to say what the thing is that makes it. So, three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 13 - Klaxon]
Griffin: A car horn.
Travis: Klaxon.
There it is. [SFX: Bell] Yeah. Travis got it.
Griffin: A klaxon?
Travis: A klaxon.
Justin: Klaxon!
Griffin: Is that a brand? Is that like Kleenex? I've heard the word before.
Travis: Yeah. That "awooga, awooga" is specifically a klaxon.
[Mystery Sound 13 - Klaxon]
All right. Let's see. So, let's go to 14. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 14 - Brick down an ice bore hole]
Travis: An Old Western.
Justin: Yeah. It sounds like an Old West gunfight.
Or baby crocodiles being shot through a tube. That's not it.
Travis: You're not allowed to guess.
Justin: It's the Large Hadron Collider, particles bouncing all around, doing their thing.
Oh. That'd be cool.
Griffin: I would love it if that's what the Large Hadron Collider sounded like.
Justin: Pew pew, pew pew..
Travis: Oh, wait. Is that the inside of a popcorn maker?
Griffin: Ooh.
Oh. That's a great guess. I never thought of it that way.
Travis: Okay. But, it's not a great guess if it's not right. I appreciate the feedback. I like the positivity. But, if it's wrong, it's not a great guess.
There is a theme here of me just seeing something cool, some viral video on Twitter, and making it the immediate next mystery sound. So, this went all over the Internet a couple of weeks ago.
Griffin: Pizza Rat.
Travis: Is this Pizza Rat playing a djembe? No. Pizza Rat playing a hammered dulcimer. Final answer.
Griffin: Mentos and Diet Coke.
Justin: Pizza Rat playing a waterphone.
I like all of them. So, what that is, somebody drilled a giant ice borehole, and dropped a brick down it. And, that's why you hear “pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew’.
Travis: Oh. That's a cool sound.
Yeah. High frequencies travel faster than low frequencies, “pew”, so you hear that sound.
[Mystery Sound 14 - Brick down an ice bore hole]
Okay. So, based off of the ones you have gotten, I think that 15 is going to be a race. So, three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 15 - Ringwraith]
Griffin: That's a Dementor?
Travis: Huh.
Griffin: Is it not a Dementor?
I’m going to say it's from a movie.
Griffin: Yeah.
Travis: Oh. Is this The Mummy?
It’s from a trilogy.
Travis: Oh. It's the Ringwraith.
There it is. Yeah. [SFX: Bell] That’s it.
[Mystery Sound 15 - Ringwraith]
Justin: Nice. Good one, Trav. You're great at this.
Griffin: I mean, Ringwraith is basically ...
Travis: It's not.
Griffin: Basically a Dementor, if you think about it.
Travis: It's not.
Griffin: It's basically ...
Justin: Based off.
Griffin: It's basically the same thing.
Justin: Inspired by.
Travis: It's not.
All right. So, 16. Matter of fact, this was the very first mystery sound we ever did. So, three, two, one.
[Mystery sound 16 - Butter being spread on toast]
Griffin: Is that butter being spread on toast?
Travis: That's butter on ... Oh. Griffin got it.
What’d you say, Griffin?
Griffin: Butter being spread on toast?
How’d you know that so perfectly? [SFX: Bell]
Griffin: Because it sounds like butter being spread on toast, like a lot.
[Mystery sound 16 - Butter being spread on toast]
From a half-inch perspective. So, when you butter toast, do you stick it right up to your ear?
Griffin: Yeah. I love the sound of it. I'm nasty like that.
Travis: Maybe I'm just buttering harder, because I don't get that close, but it sounds exactly like that to me. Perhaps I'm applying too much force when I'm buttering my toast.
It’s funny. Internally, we couldn't even guess what that sound was. So, I guess I don't butter toast enough.
Travis: Oh. I do every hour.
Justin: Or, at least you're not close enough.
Not close enough. Yeah.
Okay. 17. In three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 17 - Measuring tape respooling]
Griffin: Measuring tape re-spooling?
That’s it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [SFX: Bell]
Travis: Nice.
Justin: God.
[Mystery Sound 17 - Measuring tape respooling]
Travis: The sad part is Justin's been doing a lot of woodworking lately, and I was a professional carpenter for a while, and Griffin's never touched tools in his life.
Griffin: That's a falsehood. Actually, if you want to know the truth, our dad got my three-year-old son a set of little ... well, kind of little tools, a whole toolbox that is meant for eight- and nine-year-olds that includes just a hammer, a full-blown hammer. But, it also includes a tape measure. That is Henry's favorite toy. Which is awesome because, sometimes, the tape measure is a bad toy for a three-year-old because it'll get ya. It'll get ya.
So, we have Travis with seven points, Griffin with six points, Justin with two points.
Justin: Yeah. I feel a small comeback.
[music in]
We’re about halfway through our mystery sounds right now and things are getting heated, so let’s take a breather.
[music out]
MIDROLL
[music in]
Now back to our Mystery Sound marathon with the McElroy Brothers. A quick recap; Travis is in the lead with seven points, Griffin is in second with six points, and Justin has two points.
[music out]
Okay. Let's do number 18. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 18 - Can opener]
Justin: Somebody grinding pepper.
No.
Justin: Are you sure?
It’s in the kitchen, though.
Justin: It felt right. Yeah. That's pepper. 19. Moving on. Point for Justin. That's pepper, baby.
Travis: Is it somebody grating cheese? No.
Justin: Is it somebody eating something?
No. It is a tool in the kitchen. I'll give you that.
Justin: It's a grater.
Travis: Is it a mandoline?
Justin: No. It's a juicer.
No. No.
Justin: A French press.
No. It's an opener of metal objects.
Travis: A can opener.
Justin: Oh. A can opener. Okay.
There you go. Got a point. Sweet.
Justin: Absolutely not.
Griffin: Oh. Sheesh.
Justin: Absolutely not. I won't accept it.
Travis: You did it, Justin.
Justin: Will not accept it. Will not accept it.
That’s two points that you have not accepted.
Justin: I'm more noble. I would rather have a noble loss than a suspect win.
[Mystery Sound 18 - Can opener]
Let’s see what we have here. Okay. So, 19. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 19 - San Diego Central Library wind]
Travis: A train pulling into the station, or subway.
No.
Griffin: Is it train related?
It’s not train related.
Griffin: Huh.
Travis: Existential dread.
Griffin: Oh. Oh, oh, oh. Is that the Golden Gate Bridge?
That’s so close. Similar thought, though. Because I was going to give an anecdote of the Golden Gate Bridge after this.
Griffin: It's wind going through some sort of large structure?
That is the closest you can get. That's going to be a half point. I'm going to give that as a half point. [SFX: Bell] So, specifically, that is the sound of heavy wind blowing through the San Diego Central Library.
[Mystery Sound 19 - San Diego Central Library wind]
It was one of those things that happened with the Golden Gate Bridge, where they built something, and never really took into account that, when wind goes through it, it makes a super, super creepy sound. So, yeah, that’s what that is..
Griffin: Can you imagine living in San Francisco and hearing that ghostly wail every time the wind picks up? It is the most haunted, scary thing I could imagine.
Travis: And paying all that rent. Am I right?
Griffin: Yeah.
Travis: It's an expensive city.
I think 20 is something you're very familiar with too.
Travis: Is it my own voice?
That’s what it's going to be. Okay. Three, two, one, mystery sound 20.
[Mystery Sound 20 - Lego]
Griffin: Are those checkers?
I think you're in the ballpark.
Justin: Dice?
Justin: Poker chips?
Close, but younger, a much younger toy.
Justin: Younger toy, or for younger people?
Younger people, unless the kids are playing poker.
Griffin: Legos?
There it is. Yeah. [SFX: Bell] Another point.
[Mystery Sound 20 - Lego]
You are now up by a half point, by the way, Griffin.
Griffin: Woo-hoo.
Justin: Wow. This is a real barn burner. We've got a three-way, dead heat.
All right. What do we have here? Okay. 21. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 21 - Mouth pops]
Griffin: That's someone's mouth going popping noises..
That’s it. [SFX: Bell] Yeah.
Justin: Yeah.
[Mystery Sound 21 - Mouth pops]
So, the whole reason we did that one is because there's so much sound design done in animation that just, any time there's a bubble pop, it's always “popping noises”. There's no other sound for it. So, that was easy.
Okay. 22 is another one of those race things, at least I hope so, because it's near and dear to my heart. So, 22. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 22 - Breath of the Wild ping]
Griffin: Oh. Oh my god. What is that?
Travis: Oh, Jesus.
Griffin: I'm pretty sure it's from a game.
Mm-hmm (affirmative). You're warm.
Travis: I know it's not the actual one, but some kind of notification from a fairy in Zelda?
That is so close, as close as you can get. I think that's point-worthy. I think that's point-worthy. Unless, specifically, Griffin can say exactly what that is, then that point's going to go to Travis.
Griffin: If you gave me a half hour to really sit here and enter my mind palace, I could probably pull this up. It's a Metal Gear Codec ... It's some ...
Oh, no.
Griffin: No? What is it?
You’re going the opposite direction.
Griffin: What is it?
It is the Sheikah Slate ping from Breath of the Wild.
Griffin: Oh, god.
So, as soon as you start playing it, you get the Sheikah Slate, and it tells you where you're going, and you hear…
[Mystery Sound 22 - Breath of the Wild ping]
Griffin: Yeah.
So, you hear it the whole time. All right. 23. Three, two, one. [Mystery Sound 23 - Nokia SMS notification]
Justin: It's Morse code for SMS.
It’s close. It's a specific sound from a specific thing.
Griffin: You want to know the thing that is making the Morse code sound?
Mm-hmm (affirmative). I think, if somebody knew the sound, they'd be like, "Oh. That's exactly from this specific thing.”
Justin: Yeah. That's pretty much how the game works, for sure.
Travis: It's not the emergency sound from an iPhone, is it?
No. Older. Travis: It's a beeper, a pager SOS.
So close. So close. I'll give this one away. You know the old Nokia phones? We know the sound. We know that one. But, what this is is when you actually got an SMS text message, it would do this Morse code beepy sound.
[Mystery Sound 23 - Nokia SMS notification]
Travis: To be fair, Justin did say Morse code from SMS.
Griffin: I'm going to give that to Justin. I feel like that's a Justin point.
Justin doesn't accept points, though. Would you accept this one?
Justin: No. I accept the point if I got it right, which, in this case, I did.
But, you said SMS ... No. You did say SMS, didn't you?
Justin: Yeah.
Oh. Then, I think that works. [SFX: bell]
Justin: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Yeah. All right. Where are we?
Griffin: What are we on, 24?
We are on, yeah, 24. This is also from another random viral video.
Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 24 - Kid says ‘wow’ in auditorium]
Justin: Is that at a swimming pool, a kid at a swimming pool?
Not a swimming pool. It kind of sounds the same, though.
Justin: A kid in an ... Is he at an auditorium?
Yeah.
Griffin: Is it at a concert?
It is, yeah.
Griffin: A kid saying "wow" at a concert?
Yeah. There's a specific scenario where he would say that where it would be very awkward.
Griffin: Like a recital or an orchestra-
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Griffin: -thing? That’s all I got.
You know what? I think I'm going to give a half point for that, unless anybody has a strong feeling. Because, then, that would round you back up, and put you in the lead by a whole point.
Griffin: Okay.
That’s close enough [SFX: bell]. We’re going to go with that. Done. So, what that is is a kid ... This went viral. This kid was at an orchestra concert. And, in between movements of an orchestra, he just goes, "Wow." And then, everyone reacts to that.
[Mystery Sound 24 - Kid says ‘wow’ in auditorium]
One of my peeves about the orchestra in general is that you have to sit on your hands when you're moved between these symphonic movements. And, it's one of the reasons I think that the symphony is in trouble, is because there's this whole etiquette that's unspoken that you're not supposed to clap or do anything between movements, no matter how good it was.
Justin: You know? It's funny. I haven't been to as many symphonies and operas and stuff mainly because of what you're saying.
Yeah.
Justin: It's not because of disinterest in classical music at all. It's basically I get so bleeping into it.
Griffin: Yeah.
Justin: I'm losing it. I'm rending its clothes like, "Yes, Vivaldi. Take me away."
Griffin: Right.
Justin: You know what I mean? Thus Spake Zarathustra? No. Thus spake me in the middle of the symphony because I was loving it so much, and I had to be escorted out.
Travis: I remember, the last time I went to a Rachmaninoff symphony, in the beginning, I was whooping and hollering, and all the people in their furs and pearls and cummerbunds, they were kind of glaring at me. But, by the end of the symphony, they were all into it too, and we were throwing popcorn around, and we were shooting our revolvers into the ceiling, and having a great time. And, I kind of fixed everybody.
Griffin: And, in my defense, they didn't have a sign up at the symphony that said, "No vuvuzelas."
Travis: That’s true.
Griffin: So, I feel like, there's no precedent for it, I shouldn't have been so violently kicked out.
Justin: The last one I went to, I went to see Carmina Burana. I love it. But, they're taking forever. The pace of it is just so terrible. And, I stand up, and I'm like, "O Bortuna!" And, everybody is losing it and busting up because I made a classical music joke. And then, I was escorted out again.
Travis: I remember, I went to a symphony, and I was really enjoying the symphony, and then James Bond showed up and killed a bad guy right in the middle of it, and kind of ruined the whole thing for me.
Justin: Hate that.
Travis: I was this close to emotional catharsis, and then James Bond was like, "Looks like you hit a sour note, and then shot the guy right in front of me." And, I was like, "Huh. That really kinda took me out of it."
Griffin: So, that was 10 minutes of orchestra gags. You needed that, right?
Yes, yes.
Justin: Yeah.
Absolutely.
Justin: Just lay that in.
Okay. So, 25. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 25 - Bess Beetle]
Justin: Somebody blowing up a balloon?
No.
Travis: Styrofoam.
Griffin: Is it someone tightening something?
It’s not a person.
Travis: That's the sound a moth makes.
It’s the insect world. Yeah. So, if you heard that in the insect world, you were like, "It's got to be this insect doing this specific thing.”
Travis: A grasshopper pooping.
I could see that. Yeah.
Justin: If there are pooping sounds, but you swore no farting sounds, I think that's a technicality.
Griffin: I think it's the sound of a stink bug caught in a spiderweb.
Travis: I'm going to say the sound of a fly being eaten by a spider.
Griffin: I'm going to change mine. It's a bagworm.
Okay. Justin, do you have a final answer on this?
Justin: Yeah. I was about to say bagworm, and then he ...
Okay. So, what that was is a bess beetle. They make this sound by rubbing the body segments together in a process called stridulation.
Travis: Oh. Of course. [Mystery Sound 25 - Bess Beetle]
Bess beetles can actually make 17 different sounds, giving them this whole complex communication system. So, that's that.
Travis: Okay. You said that like that's impressive, but I can make way more than 17 sounds with my body.
Justin: Mmmm good point.
Travis: Yeah. So, I guess I'm the best beetle.
Justin: One of the top beetles.
Travis: At least.
All right. 26. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 26 - Giraffe]
Justin: Is it an animal doing something nasty?
I think it's just an animal being an animal.
Justin: Okay. That's a whale. We've got a whale, folks. This one's a whale.
It’s on land.
Justin: Oh. Elephant.
Travis: That is a hippopotamus.
Justin: Hippo. Hippo.
If you were walking through the zoo, this animal might be close to those animals you just mentioned.
Justin: Giraffe.
That’s it. [SFX: Bell] Yeah.
Justin: Yes.
Travis: Oh.
[Mystery Sound 26 - Giraffe]
Justin: They sound weird. They don't talk a lot. When they do, it sucks. Kind of like Griffin.
Travis: Oh. Oh, wow.
Griffin: Aw, neat.
Justin: Just having fun. Travis talks a lot, so I couldn't do him, and you're the only other one that I'm related to.
Griffin: Yeah. No. It's neat.
All right. 27 in three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 27 - Car turn signal]
Travis: It's a turn signal.
That’s it. [SFX: Bell] Yeah.
Griffin: Ah. Shoot. [Mystery Sound 27 - Car turn signal]
Justin: Nice pull. We have got a squeaker here.
Yeah.
Travis: So, Justin, who are you rooting for?
Justin: Myself to make a big comeback.
Travis: Oh. Sure. Uh-huh.
Justin: Let's lightning-round the rest of these.
Sure. Let's do it.
Justin: Let's lightning-round them. Let's get some points.
Yeah. We have about 10 to go, so I think we can lightning-round this.
Justin: Yeah.
Okay. So, 28. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 28 - Elevator going down]
Griffin: Elevator.
More specific.
Justin: Penthouse floor arrival.
No. It is an elevator but there's a specific reason it played like it did.
Travis: Oh. Because someone's blocking the doors.
No.
Justin: Doors closing. Doors stuck.
No. No.
Justin: The power went out.
Travis: The elevator's scared.
In the spirit of the speed round, I'll have to give this one ... That is an elevator going down. Because, for accessibility, when you hear a ding, "Ding," that means it's going up. When you hear “Ding, Ding," that means it's going down.
[Mystery Sound 28 - Elevator going down]
Griffin: Huh.
Justin: Huh.
Yeah.
Griffin: Interesting.
Justin: I did not know that.
And, you'll hear that everywhere now.
Okay. 29 in three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 29 - DC Metro doors-closing alert]
Travis: It's a subway?
It is. A specific sound for a specific subway.
Travis: The doors closing.
Griffin: Oh. Is that a ticket machine?
Justin: Subway going down. The door is ajar.
You know? You tell me if you get this point. But, it is a DC Metro doors-closing alert.
Justin: Okay.
[Mystery Sound 29 - DC Metro doors-closing alert]
Do you think that you would accept that point?
Justin: Yeah. I get that. [SFX: Bell] I get that for sure. I'll take that point.
Okay. Next one, 30. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 30 - Pulling tissue]
Travis: Taking a lapel mic off. It does sound like that, but it is not.
Travis: Tearing paper. You’re so close. Your words, I think if you reorganized some of the stuff, it would be right on.
Justin: Pearing taper.
All right. In the spirit of speed round, that is pulling a tissue from a tissue box.
Justin: Very good.
[Mystery Sound 30 - Pulling tissue]
Okay. 31. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 31 - Breaking celery]
Travis: Breaking a stick.
Oh. So close. It is breaking.
Travis: Breaking a spirit.
If you heard this in a movie, what would you think would be happening?
Travis: Oh. Stepping on a twig?
No. It's a really classic sound for a specific action in movies.
Travis: Neck break.
Yes. Now, what would make that sound?
Travis: Breaking spaghetti.
So close.
Justin: Breaking Spaghetti. I love that show. I'm sad that it's off the air, but I love the spinoff, Butter Call Saul.
Okay. So, what that is is the classic sound for breaking bones, which is breaking celery.
Griffin: Ah.
Yeah.
[Mystery Sound 31 - Breaking celery]
All right. 32. I love this one. Okay. 32. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 32 - The Sun]
Griffin: Is that an airplane sound, inside of an airplane?
Justin: It's white noise.
This one's kind of unfair because it's a sound that doesn't actually exist in nature.
Justin: Perfect. Okay. Good. Perfect job.
It is very scientific, and does not actually happen in nature, so it's a little bit out there.
Griffin: Is it a deep-space radio-signal sound?
That’s the closest you're going to get. [SFX: Bell] *So, what that sound is is, if our sun had air between the sun and us, that's what the sun would sound like all the time on Earth. The only reason we can't hear the sun is because there's no medium, air, in space to transmit it.
Travis: That's pretty cool.
Yeah.
[Mystery Sound 32 - The Sun]
Okay. A few more here. All right. 33. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 33 - Ice breaking]
Griffin: Is that a glass window breaking?
Mm-mm (negative).
Travis: It's peanut brittle.
Very common sound. I'll say that. So, it's going to be even more common than what everyone's thinking.
Travis: Even more common than peanut brittle?
Even more common.
Griffin: Ice breaking?
There it is. Yeah.
[Mystery Sound 33 - Ice breaking]
You’re now in the lead by one point.
Justin: What's the score right now?
It’s Travis nine, Griffin ten, Justin five.
Travis: And, there's four left?
There’s four left.
Justin: I need a big run.
Griffin: You could tie Travis.
Okay. 34. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 34 - Peacock]
Justin: Adult man pretending to be a cat as part of a cat-man play.
Griffin: Is that a howler monkey?
No.
Griffin: Oh. Is that a duck call?
No.
Travis: Is it a type of bird?
It is a bird. Yeah. It kind of sounds like a bird saying, "Help." But, it's not that. It is a peacock call.
Travis: Oh.
Griffin: Ah.
Justin: Oh, wild.
[Mystery Sound 34 - Peacock]
Travis: That is a thing that's used in murder mysteries sometimes, to explain, "Oh. You thought you heard someone calling for help, but that was just the peacocks on the grounds."
Okay. 35. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 35 - Coral reef]
Griffin: Bacon frying.
It does sound a lot like bacon frying.
Griffin: Fire? Just fire burning?
Mm-mm (negative). We're back underwater again, of all things.
Griffin: Oh.
Travis: Is that coral growing?
That counts. [SFX: Bell] It’s a coral reef.
Justin: Wow.
The popping and chewing sounds are from tons of organisms chewing and moving and vocalizing on the reef.
Justin: Wow.
[Mystery Sound 35 - Coral reef]
So, we are back to a tied game. Travis 10, Griffin 10, Justin …
Justin: Justin 10. Three-way tie.
Travis: Three-way tie.
All right. 36. Two more. Three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 36 - Llama]
Justin: Seagulls?
Mm-mm (negative).
Travis: No. A zebra braying.
I think you're closer. Yeah. It does live in a field, I think.
Travis: It lives in a field, you think.
Griffin: Is that moose?
No.
I would imagine this animal being kind of a jerk.
Travis: Is it man?
It could be.
Travis: Man is kind of a jerk.
Okay. That's a llama.
Griffin: A llama.
Yeah.
Travis: Now, do you think it's kind of a jerk based purely off of Emperor's New Groove?
Well, and spitting.
[Mystery Sound 36 - Llama]
Okay. This could break it, or we could just leave this as a tie. So, 37, three, two, one.
[Mystery Sound 37 - Lion cub]
Griffin: Is that a porcupine?
No.
Justin: Is it an animal?
It is an animal. Yeah.
Travis: Is that a cat sneezing?
Justin: Is it a sneeze?
I don't know. I don't think it's a sneeze, but I don't know. It could be a sneeze. But, it is from an animal, a very cute animal. That turns into a very scary animal.
Justin: Oh. Gizmo. Gizmo from Gremlins.
I don't think Gizmo's a real animal.
Justin: Says the guy that played the sound of two black holes. Unbelievable.
Griffin: Is it a skunk?
It is not, no.
Travis: Could it be a skunk if it tried hard enough?
What’s that?
Travis: Don't worry. Is that a baby tiger?
You are so close. If you just flipped that-
Justin: Taby Giger.
Travis: Baby lion.
That’s it. You got it. You win. [SFX: Bell, party whistle, cheer]
Travis: Yes!
Justin: Wow. Wow. Unbelievable.
Griffin: What is it?
It was a lion cub.
Griffin: Oh. Doing what?
Travis: Just existing, man.
[Mystery Sound 37 - Lion cub]
Okay. So, last question just for everybody. I usually ask people what the best sound in the entire world is to them personally. But, I figured it might be fun to ask, what is the worst sound in the entire world to you?
Travis: Oh. That's easy for me. There's this kind of material that ... I believe it's called reticulated something. But, it's plastic, and they used to put it on covers of agendas for kids in middle school and high school and stuff. And, if you moved it, it would make the picture move.
Justin: Lenticular.
Travis: Yes. And, if you rub your fingers across it, it makes this sound that makes my skin crawl.
Does it make the “zzz” sound?
Travis: Yeah. Yeah. I hate that sound so much.
Griffin: I'm not a fan of eating noises right in my ear, which is really unfortunate being a podcasting professional, because I get that from time to time.
Justin: My number-one is when someone is eating, and they scrape their fork across their teeth as they eat. I have tried to overcome this. I've tried to make myself immune to it, and I am incapable. It goes all over me every single time. I want to scream.
Ugh. I think we got it. Thank you, guys.
Travis: Thank you.
Justin: Well, it was our pleasure. That was actually really fun.
[music in]
Twenty-Thousand Hertz is produced out of the sound design studios of Defacto Sound. Find out more at Defacto Sound dot com.
This episode was produced by Colin DeVarney. And me, Dallas Taylor. With help from Sam Schneble. It was edited and sound designed by Soren Begin. And mixed by Colin DeVarney.
A huge thanks to the McElroy brothers for joining me on today’s episode. I had an absolute blast. The McElroys host multiple fantastic podcasts including My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and The Adventure Zone. You can check those out, along with the rest of their amazing content, on their website which is: The McElroy dot Family. Be sure to listen and subscribe to their podcasts in your favorite podcast player.
What are some great mystery sounds you’ve been hoping we’d play but haven’t? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or on our subreddit; r/two zero kay. You can also reach out directly at hi at 20k dot org.
Thanks for listening.
[music out]
