Beep
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- This article is about the "beep" sound. For the computer networking concept, see BEEP.
A beep is a noise, generally of a single tone. It is often emitted from a machine or a computer, use of this is made in films.
"Beep-Beep" and the related "Meep! Meep!" are onomatopoeia commonly associated with the Road Runner in the Road Runner and Wile E. cartoons. Chuck Jones, the creator of the Road Runner, said this sound, the only way the Road Runner can harm the Coyote, was inspired by hearing a Doppler-like effect as a worker carrying backgrounds beep-beeped when he could not see where he was going. Warner Brothers, the current owner of all trademarks relating to the duo, lists "Beep! Beep!" as the Road Runner's sound.
Beeps are used regularly in television programs to censor spoken words. (See bleep censor.) In the 1970s, science-fiction writer Larry Niven wrote about a future where, because of this usage, the word "beep" itself became a curse word. As of 2005, there is some anecdotal evidence that this is actually happening.
External links
- Warner Brothers' Road Runner and Wile E. cartoons site (http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/stars/stars_wile.jsp)