The Pedestrian Horn

We've posted before about Los Angeles auto dealer Hilton Tupman who, back in 1948, invented a "pedestrian horn" that he used to honk at motorists.



Great ideas like that tend to get recycled. So, recently artist Yosef Lerner unveiled a pedestrian horn for the 21st century. His intent was satirical. He wanted to make the point that honking at people can be obnoxious, whether you're on foot or in a car. But for a while he was actually offering his pedestrian horn for sale on his website, at $699 each. He decided to stop selling them because (as he told Gizmodo) he didn't want "to contribute to any more noise in this city!”





For the record, Tupman didn't invent the idea of a pedestrian horn. Actress Eleanor Whitney had rigged one up in 1932.

Chambersburg Public Opinion - Apr 9, 1932

And as early as 1927, there's a report in the NY Times about an unnamed man from Southampton, England who had attached a "miniature but noisy motorhorn" to his walking stick and then "sounded warning blasts to the more fortunate ones in automobiles when he was about to cross."

New York Times - Oct 7, 1927

Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 19, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Motor Vehicles, Cars, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

De Kermisklanten

(Foreign) Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 17, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Foreign Customs, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Learning To Play The Shenanigan

Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 30, 2019 - Comments (6)
Category: Antiques, Anachronisms and Throwbacks, Authorities and Experts, Cult Figures and Artifacts, Humor, Music, Foreign Customs, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Nyow! Nyot Nyow!

Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 07, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Anthropomorphism, Fey, Twee, Whimsical, Naive and Sadsack, Music, Cats, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Steamboat Springs Ski Band

Can they be said to be a "marching" band, or not?



Article here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Sep 21, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Music, Seasonal, Performance Art, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Scuffy Shew

Posted By: Paul - Fri Sep 06, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, 1970s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

I Dreamt I Saw Khrushchev (in a Pink Cadillac)

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 15, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: Humor, Music, Politics, 1960s, Russia, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Sebastian Cabot’s “Like A Rolling Stone”

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 11, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Music, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Bette Davis Sings

Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 18, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Amateurs and Fans, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Movies, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults

Electronic Yodeling Pickle

All yours for a mere sawbuck.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 13, 2019 - Comments (3)
Category: Annoying Things, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults, Food, Pickles, Chindogu