In my opinion, the survival whistle is the one thing everyone—man, woman, child—should have on their night stand, in their “safe room/tornado shelter”, the car, the purse, bug out bag, when jogging, when hiking or camping, whenever… It can be heard from over a mile away and is such a distinctive sound that it catches people’s attention immediately.
I have bought all of mine (yes, I give them to family and friends) for just a few dollars. That is a reasonable price for something that could save your life! It has five different functions:
Shrill signal whistle- Compass
- Waterproof interior compartment for matches, candy for a princess, or an emergency aspirin for me
- Signal mirror
- Flint on the side for striking matches to make a fire
Way back when—in the dark ages—it seemed like I learned in Girl Scouts that the SOS signal was a short burst, longer, then another short burst.
I checked out Morse code on Wikipedia: “For emergency signals, Morse code can be sent by way of improvised sources that can be easily “keyed” on and off, making it one of the simplest and most versatile methods of telecommunication. The most common distress signal is SOS or three dots, three dashes and three dots, internationally recognized by treaty.” Well, I think they just shortened it for girls! Either way, I think it would work as a signal for help!
A whistle? How could that possibly be useful in an emergency situation? Let’s consider several scenarios…
- Tornado, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, flood has collapsed your home and you are trapped. A whistle can be heard much farther than a voice and bring rescue personnel to you sooner.
- In a fire, with potential smoke inhalation restricting your breathing, a whistle may be the only way you can call for help.
- Out jogging and a dog bites your calf and you need help NOW. A whistle can be heard farther away than a shout and the shrill sound may actually deter a dog from continuing the attack.
- Your car plunges off the road and is hidden in darkness or brush, the sound of a whistle carries especially when combined with a repeated signal.
- If you are in an apartment and someone is attempting to break in, the shrill call of a whistle will wake up others in the building and perhaps prevent a potentially deadly break-in.
- Out hiking, camping, or hunting? Lost? You have a compass, signal mirror and (matches not included) the potential to make fire, and of course the whistle.
- And if you keep a baby aspirin in the waterproof compartment, the anti-coagulant could save your life if you feel a stroke or heart attack coming on.
I’m sure you can think of other potential scenarios, but you get the idea.
The survival whistle: Inexpensive, versatile, and effective. Consider this humble device to be on YOUR front line of defense.