The surprising and wonderful history of Acme Whistles
The surprising and wonderful history of Acme Whistles Id never thought about whistles until I stumbled across the bizarre-looking Acme Nighingale in the Thomann catalogue. Acme is the brand name of Joseph Hudson & Co, based in Birmingham. The company has been responsible for every major advance in whistle technology since 1860. In 1883, the Metropolitan Police were looking for a replacement for the bulky rattles theyd been using to attract attention. Amateur violinist Hudson created a two-tone whistle whose sound could carry for a mile - it was inspired by the noise his violin strings made as they broke. The met ordered 21,000 whistles, and 45 million have been sold since. (More police whistle history) In 1884, the Acme Thunderer was developed for football referrees. The Tornado T2000, from 1989, was designed for referees in supersized stadiums and it used at all FIFA internationals. It costs �3.94 and is available in black, white, blue, red, yellow, flouro green and flouro orange...