There鈥檚 only one factory left in the country that manufactures metal whistles and it鈥檚 based on the north side of Columbus.
The in Worthington has been producing the game-stopping gadget since 1956.
鈥淭ake one more good look around and think to yourself once again: 鈥業 have arrived,鈥欌�� said Phil Clark, as he began leading a tour group through the facility.
He鈥檚 been making whistles here for more than a decade. A working musician, he wanted a job with some quirks.
鈥淪ince I couldn't make saxophones in Paris, it was like, well, whistles 鈥� it's the same technique just in a smaller form and you only get one note out of it,鈥� he said.
Now, he鈥檚 one of just a few full-time factory workers who tinker in a roomful of heavy machines that churn out the ear-piercing instrument.
The machines that make a metal whistle
Clark stopped the tour group at the first of these metal monsters: a colossal contraption with giant googly eyes affixed above a mouth that chomps through sheets of brass.
鈥淚 named this press Big Junior,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淏ig because it's our largest press. It's a 40-ton press.鈥�
Each whistle is composed of 3 separate pieces. Big Junior makes the top half, which resembles Mickey Mouse ears as it鈥檚 produced.
Next to it, another machine presses logos into the metal, then folds those ears down to form the sides of the whistle.
Clark held up a finished piece emblazoned with the word 鈥楥OACH.鈥�
Nearby, other pieces of equipment punch, bend and chop the bottom half of the instrument. Another creates the loop that holds it on a lanyard.
鈥淎nd so all three of those pieces are soldered together,鈥� Clark said.
Then, the whistles are dumped into a polishing machine, where they鈥檙e spun round and round and round with soap and water for hours.
鈥淲hen they come out of there, they are just as clean as a鈥�,鈥� Clark teased the group, trailing off.
鈥淲histle!鈥� someone in the audience finished.
鈥淭here you go,鈥� Clark said. 鈥淚 had to say that joke, didn't I?鈥�
A whistle鈥檚 tell-tale trill
At this point, the whistle has a sharp, straight pitch. But it鈥檚 not quite like the classic staccato sound you hear on a basketball court.
That鈥檚 because the instrument is missing a critical component: the tiny ball that vibrates inside each time it鈥檚 blown.
鈥淚t's the trill,鈥� Clark said, 鈥渏ust like you're rolling your tongue a little bit.鈥�
Another machine blasts the tiny piece into the slot at the top of each whistle with a shot of air.
Then, once everything鈥檚 assembled, the whistles are packaged and shipped off to Walmart, Amazon and Dunham Sports stores all over the country.
鈥淚 would just imagine they're sold to any official, or a teacher, a police officer or just somebody that's really super bossy,鈥� Clark said.
He says the American Whistle Corporation makes about 2,000 whistles a day and each one produces 126 decibels of sound.
鈥淲hich means they could be heard for over a mile,鈥� Clark added on the tour.
So next time you hear a whistle at recess, or on the soccer field or at the swimming pool, it just might have been made in Ohio.