His whistle business was very small until in 1883 The London Metropolitan Police advertised for an idea to replace the policeman’s rattle a cumbersome means of communication for the bobby on his “beat” (the name given to his patrol).
Joseph Hudson invented a novel whistle for the purpose. It could be held in the mouth leaving the hands free a clear advantage over the rattle. Joseph Hudson’s dilemma was in finding a distinctive and far carrying sound. Pondering on this problem as he played his violin he failed to place his instrument down firmly on the table when he had finished playing and it fell to the ground and broke.
He noticed what a jarring and discordant sound it made as it broke and sensed that this was the type of sound he needed for his new whistle.
The police tested his whistle on Clapham Common and were delighted when it was clearly heard just over a mile (1.6Km) distance.
Over the next 135 years Acme developed and patented over 40 different whistle designs. Here are just a few of these world firsts:
- The Metropolitan Police Whistle
- The Acme Thunderer
- The Acme Siren
- Silent Dog Whistle
- Scout Whistle
- Life Jacket Watersafe Whistle
- The Tornado
http://www.acmewhistles.co.uk/
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