# Whistling to disconnect modem

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistling-to-disconnect-modem/219523
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 17, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistling-to-disconnect-modem/219523 "2003-12-17T13:12:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistling-to-disconnect-modem/219523/1 "2003-12-17T13:12:17Z")

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Sometimes when I’m online (dial-up), I’ll find myself in a different room from the PC, needing to free the line so I can use the phone. Being a lazy, impatient flibbertigibbet, I disconnect the modem by whistlin’ down the phone.

Am I harming my modem by doing this?

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### Author: ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whistling-to-disconnect-modem/219523/2 "2003-12-17T13:21:01Z")

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There’s a chance your modem will interpret this as data, and create a supervirus that will _ **take over the world!** _

Well it might in Hollywood.  
So, um… no.