Sounds

Shrinks, aka: psychiatrists, use the link between the senses to delve into the human mind. Things such as sight, smell, touch, taste and sound are often used to get a patient to recall or relate to a significant event in life. The sense of sounds gone intrigued me today. There are just some sounds that aren’t around anymore or at least are not as common.

Ever wonder why a soda is called a pop? Back in ancient times when sodas were bottled in glass bottles, you had to have an opener to take the cap off. If you did it quickly, it would pop. If the bottle had been shaken, the contents would run out of the bottle and get all over everything. The pop of a cold soda on a hot summer day, meant refreshment was on the way.

Believe it or not, coffee used to be brewed in percolators.  They made a special sound as the water got hotter and hotter and would rise up through a tube and settle over ground coffee. The "perk" of the pot let you know that the coffee was making. Coffee actually tasted like coffee way back then.

Early model John Deere tractors had to be hand cranked to start. When they started, they made a popping sound as the pistons moved inside the block of the engine. Popping Johnny’s they were called. Even if you put the tractor into "road gear" it still made that sound.

Then there’s the sound of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Unique to all others, an old Harley just made a sound that was and still is fine music to the ear of most men. I will admit that I also liked the sound of an Indian bike with no mufflers.

Of course, there was the sound of a car engine with glass pack mufflers. Especially, a 327 cubic inch Chevy engine, or maybe a 409. What ever happened to glass pack mufflers? Probably some nanny said it hurt her ears. I suppose the sounds that one hears and remembers are as different as there are people.

They really should bring back those mufflers.

PMO
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