This morning at about 3 o’clock, I awoke aboard Tuugaalik and could hear, above me on deck, a rat apparently eating something. (No we don’t have a dirty boat. Rats live ashore and like to visit at night.) I banged several times on the underside of the deck and on the hull, but to no avail.
I got up to look after an unrelated matter, and then went into the salon to check on the furnace.
There on the navigation station was a Generation pennywhistle, and since Judy was away, and I was awake anyway, I decided to have a rip through “Off to California” with enthusiasm unrestrained, and all ornaments added.
My playing needs fulfilled for the moment, I returned to bed to listen for the rat. It had gone! No more rat noises!
This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the Pied Piper of Hamlin did not have rats follow him out of town as legend would have us believe, but that he DROVE them out with his “pipe”, which was, from pictures I have seen, undoubtedly a pennywhistle.
I am immensely pleased because on Tuugaalik we have a rule that everything on board must have at least two uses. My pennywhistles and I are now pest control devices.
Perhaps I can hire myself out to other boaters. I think I see a business opportunity here!
Peter
Rats communicate over a specific bandwidth but if that bandwidth(frequencies)is increased,it becomes painful to their ears just like humans. Pennywhistles produce high pitched harmonics,sometimes called “chiff” on this site,that could either attract or repel rats.
If you happen upon the right set of harmonic frequencies, your rat invaders will vanish! Remember the tune you played,and the loudness, to send this one away and it should work in the future 
Thomas Hastay
Next time I hear anything (mice, rats, armed intruders, etc.), I’ll get out my Generation High-G and play something entirely in the higher octave! This should take care of this problem and any others within a few blocks of my house!
Whistles are very effective for chasing away my other half’s cats, which are definitely pests in my view. Overfed sluggardly parasites! One of them obligingly, if bad-temperedly, leaves the room without fail after the first few notes. The other one is more torpid, but I can usually get shot of him within 15 minutes of continuous playing.
My goodness, Steve. It is a common belief that people often feel and act similarly with animals and children. I hope it’s not true in your case.
Jessie
It is a common belief that people often feel and act similarly with animals and children.
The thing is Jessie, if you don’t like your children, you can always put them up for adoption or leave them on a doorstep somewhere, knowing they’ll be well cared for. But nobody would take these brutes, I assure you.
On 2002-01-22 14:43, StevieJ wrote:
Whistles are very effective for chasing away my other half’s cats, which are definitely pests in my view.
My cat Sadie (named after Sadie in the tune Sadie at the Back Door) is sitting here with me reading this. We’re not pleased. Not pleased at all!
Steve
You know..some poeple are definitely cat people. Other people, well, they’re more like me
On 2002-01-22 15:15, StevieJ wrote:
The thing is Jessie, if you don’t like your children, you can always put them up for adoption or leave them on a doorstep somewhere, knowing they’ll be well cared for. But nobody would take these brutes, I assure you.
On 2002-01-22 14:05, Thomas-Hastay wrote:
Pennywhistles produce high pitched harmonics,sometimes called “chiff” on this site,that could either attract or repel rats.
Does this mean if you play the wrong tune you will attract all the rats in the area?
Does this mean if you play the wrong tune you will attract all the rats in the area? >
Probably everyone knows the joke about the man who goes into a junk shop and comes out with a stuffed rat. But anyway:
Man goes into a junk shop and browses around until a stuffed rat mounted on a plinth takes his fancy. Pays for it and goes out.
Walking down the quite city backstreet with the rat under his arm, he feels an urge to turn around. Sees a lone rat sitting in the middle of the street watching him.
Unnerved, he quickens his pace. Looking round again, he notices that there are now five rats, which are following him.
He starts to run. Glancing over his shoulder he sees rats pouring out of all the buildings and sewers, all running after him. And closing!
He starts to sprint and arrives at the banks of the canal, thousands of rats in hot pursuit. Desperately he flings the stuffed rat into the canal. All the rats dive in after it and drown.
Shaken, he starts walking away, not knowing what to think. Suddenly he sets off determinedly back to the junk shop, goes in and says to the owner:
“You wouldn’t by any chance have a stuffed bodhran player, would you?”
I had a cat once and I loved him. He was absolutely delicious in fact, if a little stringy! I ate cat kebobs once in Ghana, West Africa… they were quite good. We bought them from a street vendor who undoubtedly had stolen someone’s wandering cat and thought it would make a nice barbecue. He was right! I wish there was somewhere to find cat-kebabs around here.
Chris
P.S. - Contrary to popular belief, cat tastes nothing like chicken; more like goat actually.
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2002-01-22 18:44 ]
My late cat, now resting in peace, use to seek me out and bite me when I would play my whistle.
No, I did not eat the cat :roll:
Geez. Remind me to leave the pets at home if I ever go to a gathering with you folks. I have dogs, but somebody here probably ate dogmeat too.
By the way, I do have a few relatives I’m not fond of. Anybody having a dinner party I can help with? 
i play lower whistles most of the time, and it seems to draw the cat and dog i think they like the lower octives.
On 2002-01-22 13:51, tuugaalik wrote:
This leads me to the inescapable conclusion that the Pied Piper of Hamlin did not have rats follow him out of town as legend would have us believe, but that he DROVE them out with his “pipe”, which was, from pictures I have seen, undoubtedly a pennywhistle
By Coincidence, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a reading of the Pied Piper poem last night. After agreeing a price with the Mayor, he blew just three notes on his pipe, possible a tabor pipe, to drive the rats out. He then advanced through the streets playing his pipe, and they followed.
For the full (illustrated) story, see below:
http://www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/etext/piper/cover.html
[ This Message was edited by: Martin Milner on 2002-01-23 05:51 ]
Well, at least nobody’s naming the cats they’re eating!
[quote]
On 2002-01-22 16:32, Wandering_Whistler wrote:
You know..some poeple are definitely cat people[quote]
Wonder which people would classify me as.
My dear Tyghress, you are in a class by itself.
You see Martin? See? That’s just what I mean! Some guy named Browning writes something based on inaccurate information, and then the BBC broadcasts it. How many ways are there to perpetuate a myth!?
Let me count the ways…
Okay, I’ve counted them, and believe me there are lots.
I do notice that on the cover of the book of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he is playing his WHISTLE with TWO hands. It looks like he is playing a G, and I’m sure the flare on the bottom of the whistle is just artistic licence. Either that or Kate Greenaway is also part of the conspiracy.
By the way, for the record, I love cats as long as they don’t live with me.
I really don’t know why I felt the need to mention cats, but I did.
On 2002-01-23 12:49, Anna Martinez wrote:
Well, at least nobody’s naming the cats they’re eating!
Hmm…
Toranadoes de’ Tabitha,
Leo a la King,
Whiskers in white sauce …
Sounds …
I may not be a cat person, purrrhaps, you can forgive and still …