Editing Blog/2025-09-21/Dog Whistles

I read this tweet that talked about [[wikipedia:Dog whistle (politics)|the politics term "dog whistle"]] that made me rather curious.
[[File:Product Listing - Amazon Dog Whistle.png|thumb|right]]

{{Tweet
| name = TracingWoodgrains
| username = tracewoodgrains
| text = If you’re hearing a whistle, consider whether you may be the dog.
| date = Jul 15, 2025
| ID = 1945157825077911715
| ref-name = Tweet_1945157825077911715
| block = true
}}

Fine, it's a natural joke with the phrase. But is it true for dog whistles? In TV shows and the like they show dog whistles as pretty quiet but they also show a guy with a silencer on a gun shooting someone next to someone else. So what's the common reality like?

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Dog Whistles Are Loud
|-
! Test !! LAeq !! Max. Level !! LCPeak
|-
| Normal Computer Room || 39.3 dB || 40.0 dB || 64.6 dB
|-
| Whistle in Computer Room || 92.6 dB || 97.7 dB || 102.0 dB
|}

The high noise levels in my computer room are because this website is hosted there. Don't worry, I am appropriately embarrassed by how loud it is. But the upshot is now we know what the real world version of the tweet is: If you're hearing a whistle, consider whether someone bought the "Best Seller" dog whistle on Amazon.

I had to make this blog post now because [[Julie Yu Kang|Julie]] got sick of those dog whistles lying there and threatened to throw them away, so I had to run the experiment in the short time I had before she got hold of them. They are gone now and will no longer assault any dogs (of which we have none) or humans (who were subjected to a 15 second blast in response to threatening to throw away valuable experimental equipment).

== Notes ==

<references />


{{#seo:|description=A blog post exploring the real-world volume of dog whistles, with test results showing they can be surprisingly loud, contrary to common depictions.}}

[[Category:Blog]]
[[Category:Facts]]