# The noon whistle: Did you grow up with one? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 17, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516 "2013-08-17T22:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/61 "2013-08-18T21:23:09Z")
I grew up with a noon whistle. I grew up near Folsom State Prison, which had one. I don’t have one now, but I vaguely miss it, now that you mention it. That said, I never used it as a trigger for eating lunch or anything–it just served as a nice anchor point for the day. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/62 "2013-08-18T21:29:12Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > No, one thing is not the other. A noon whistle is a whistle that goes off at noon, not at 3pm on the first Tuesday of the month. Just because you’ve heard an air raid siren doesn’t mean you have ever heard of the practice of a noon whistle. Our air raid sirens were tested daily at noon. For a while it made you check a clock to make sure there wasn’t a [bear in the air.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-95) After we had a tornado come through some wise civic worker realized those were more likely than getting nuked, so the air raid sirens became tornado warning sirens. Then they put in some really fucking loud sirens and stopped testing them daily to save our hearing. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/63 "2013-08-18T21:30:33Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m still confused. Is this noon whistle a factory signal, a community clock, or an air raid siren? Depends. Ours is the fire horn at the station. It blares when there’s an emergency and they need the volunteers to roll in, and it sounds once everyday at noon. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/64 "2013-08-18T21:31:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m still confused. Is this noon whistle a factory signal, a community clock, or an air raid siren? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/65 "2013-08-18T21:35:23Z")
Another upstate NY’er at heart checking in. We had one in Mayville NY at least until the early 90s. I didn’t hear one at the various other places I’ve lived in NYS but that may have been because I was too far from the village center or in too big a city, so for all I know they may still be doing it. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/66 "2013-08-18T21:38:55Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m still confused. Is this noon whistle a factory signal, a community clock, or an air raid siren? Before the 1960s-70s, it was a factory thing. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/67 "2013-08-18T21:43:35Z")
I was born in the 80’s and grew up in a rural farming community north of Minneapolis. Every night there was a siren at 9pm that came from the fire station in town. I’m not sure when it stopped. Maybe the mid 90’s? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/68 "2013-08-18T22:57:25Z")
Every day at noon they set off the fire siren in the small Kentucky town where I grew up. In summer it did indeed call us home to lunch. Much dog-howling accompanied the siren. Often we were told to come home when the Angelus was rung at Church at 6 pm too. I’ll have to ask a friend who still lives there if they’re still doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/69 "2013-08-19T01:24:16Z")
I grew up with a noon whistle. It was the same system used to warn of tornadoes but the noon whistle sounded different; it would go from quieter to louder and repeat three times. The tornado warning went from quieter to louder but then sustained forever. The town I live in now doesn’t have have a noon whistle; they do test their tornado warning system on the first Wednesday of every month at 1 pm. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/70 "2013-08-19T01:27:41Z")
Every Wed at Noon they test the sirens. I’ve heard it for as long as I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/71 "2013-08-19T01:43:51Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m still confused. Is this noon whistle a factory signal, a community clock, or an air raid siren? > [@friedo](#): > > Yes. **friedo** beat me to it. 😛 They can be any and all of the aforementioned. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/72 "2013-08-19T01:44:46Z")
Where I grew up (Garden City Park, NY), the volunteer Fire Department tested their alarm every day at noon. They discontinued it for a while due to complaints from the neighbors, but recently reinstated the practice. Where I live now (Lusby, MD) we have the nuclear power plant meltdown siren that they test on the first of every month at noon. Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant is about 5 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/73 "2013-08-19T01:48:39Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > **friedo** beat me to it. 😛 > They can be any and all of the aforementioned. 🙂 So then what’s the point? No really. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/74 "2013-08-19T02:07:45Z")
To tell you when to go to work, what time it is, or when the Ruskies are coming, respectively. Or sometimes to tell you when there’s a tornado or fire. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/75 "2013-08-19T02:08:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So then what’s the point? No really. In the case of factories before the 1970s, it probably signaled lunch for the employees… ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/76 "2013-08-19T03:11:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So then what’s the point? No really. Ours is on the fire station. I think it’s a way for the fire station to test the alarm and to make sure the community knows what the sound is (in case of a real emergency). It’s become a quaint custom that people enjoy. Until recently the siren would sound in the morning if school was cancelled due to snow. 😃 Quaint. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/77 "2013-08-19T14:26:33Z")
Grew up with one at noon and one at 6 pm, Monday through Saturday. The town I now live in has one at 7 freakin’ AM! as well at noon and 6 pm and that’s 7 days a week all year 'round. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/78 "2013-08-19T14:45:06Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > They say back in the day the sounded the whistle at 6 pm on summer nights to tell the kids to go home! In my hometown, they sounded the curfew one at 10 or 9 depending on how many times they resurrected the curfew ordinance. They finally did away with it altogether when they figured out nobody followed it anyway. > [@slomomofo](#): > > Originally it was a fire signal to call the volunteer fire fighters way back when before pagers and whatnot, but it was repurposed as a noon ringer once technology came to town. Same with ours, although they still occasionally use it to call the volunteer firefighters. It’s very annoying in the middle of the night. > [@JBDivmstr](#): > > severe storm/tornado warnings That’s what they did in my hometown when I was a kid, but they don’t seem to use them for that very much in the town I now live in. > [@Motorgirl](#): > > I somehow doubt that any of the towns that had a “noon whistle” had a noon whistle just because noon was somehow important. They simply test at noon (or 5, or the second tuesday of the month, or some other regularly occurring time) the whistle that is used for a different purpose. I actually think they do blow it because they think noon (and 6 pm and 7 freakin’ am) are important. At least I’ve never heard it mentioned that it is a test and why would they need to test it 2 or 3 times a day? ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/79 "2013-08-19T14:45:47Z")
I’m so blessed that I can hear three different noon signals at my house. First is the tornado siren at the Fillmore fire station, then the one in Boltonville, and then Silver Creek. When I’m working in the yard, the siren reminds me to take a break during the heat of the day. If I’m outside with my 3 year old, he knows it as “the nap whistle”. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516/80 "2013-08-19T14:46:56Z")
Never heard one myself; but when Chernenko was buried in Red Square all factory whistles, and those of trains and ships were sounded for five full minutes across the USSR. Maybe they did for the other old sickly buggers who were dropping like flies at the time, but an impressive gesture nonetheless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-noon-whistle-did-you-grow-up-with-one/666516.md?page=5)