Have a listen ... What do YOU think this toy is saying?
By penny64
@penny64 (1106)
Australia
November 18, 2008 9:41pm CST
This is a little freaky, so please bear with me while I explain the story ...
My daughter received a happy meal toy from McDonalds some months back - a Yoda clonewars figure which talks when you push a button on the side.
I thought it must be broken, because it said "May the fWEEEEE be with you".
Then, the other day, my husband was playing with it, and he mimicked it by saying, "May the FORCE be with you!".
I laughed and said ... "Well, that's what it's supposed to say ..."
He looked confused, and replied, "No, that is what it clearly IS saying!"
We both listened at the same time ... I heard "fWEEEE" and he heard "FORCE". Very, very strange ...
Then, last night, my daughter was playing with it again, and I actually for the first time heard it say "FORCE" not "fWEEE", while she insisted it still said "fWEEE".
So, I got on the internet to see if anyone else was experiencing this, and found this funny clip on YouTube ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHW_P2dqvo
Now the weirdest thing is, I have watched the clip several times, and sometimes I hear it say "FORCE" very clearly ALL the way through, and other times I can't hear "FORCE" at all. So it's not the toy ... it's my ears!
Today, I can almost always make the toy say one or the other just by deciding beforehand in my head what I want it to say ... I know this sounds bizarre, but it's absolutely true, I promise.
I'd be really interested to see what other MyLotters can hear ... what IS this toy saying. It might be interesting if you can also give your age, so we can discover if it might be pitch related.
If there is anyone in MyLot who can explain the science behind this, that would be very cool. Is it something to do with the pitch that makes one selectively deaf one way or the other with this toy? Is it like an audio version of one of those reversable optical illusions? Or do I just need a very long holiday?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@rebecca7783 (123)
• India
26 Nov 08
Hey penny,
i worked in mc donald's for sometimes dear and we had the toys saying:
"May Mc Dwee be with you.." That was the motto...
we wanted the kids to stay with mc donalds forever...
i hope this will solve all the ear problems dear... and yes MAY MC DWEE BE WITH YOU always...!!
@rebecca7783 (123)
• India
26 Nov 08
this was our motto which the toy said.. but i know the voice has an alien accent so many people cannot quiet get what exactly the toy is trying to say... :-)
2 people like this
PS Talking about cute, I love your avatar!@rebecca7783 (123)
• India
26 Nov 08
the toy speaks with an alien accent and i know its difficult to understand.. but then again... its message is very sweet and i also like its looks.. very cute isn't it??
2 people like this
@bjcyrix (6901)
• Philippines
19 Nov 08
Hey penny!
I really couldnt make out the "force" word in any of the times that it was playing, even repeated it a couple of times. All I could make out was that 'eee' syllable and no 'f' or 's' sounds. But I guess it would be more clear if I have the toy in real life so I could hear first hand. Perhaps it is just something in the background of the record or the word "force" is just a but inaudible or something. There is a video response saying they hooked up the toy on a car stereo and cranked the volume up. Said it definitely says "force". Havent had a chance to look at it myself though.
As for the explanation, I agree with Purtle. People would have a preconceived notion about something he hears if someone else has already suggested what it might be like. The mind is trying to piece things together what he has just seen or heard from the different sources of information. Think its all psychological. That doesnt stop you from going on that long vacation though.
Expecting to hear something then not hearing it does make one suspicious.
You're welcome.^_^@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
20 Nov 08
The recording does sound exactly like the toy. In fact, the other video you talk about has slowed the recording down slightly, and it seems to stop the distortion, so you do definitely hear "force". (There's a link to it in YouTube with the first video, if anyone is curious.) I agree with the preconceived theory, except that when I first heard the toy, I expected it to say "force", and when it didn't, I thought it was broken. Hmmmmm, looking forward to that vacation ... lol. Thanks for your reply!
1 person likes this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
16 Apr 09
I'm not crazy about talking toys that you can't make out what their saying. I listened to the video and all I heard was "may the wee be with you" and it wasn't all that clear. It may be saying weed but that may be the power of suggestion too. I didn't hear anything even close to the word force in it though.
[b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~
**STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**[/b]
2 people like this
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
17 Apr 09
It might sound weird, but it is one tough toy. Since I first started this discussion, my daughter has run over it with her bike, and it has been dropped on concrete countless times. It still says the same thing, and I can still hear both phrases, depending on my mood. My husband is still convinced that all it says is "May the force be with you" and that I'm making up the rest. Perhaps it explains why he misinterprets so much of what I say ... lol! Have a lovely weekend. Penny
1 person likes this
@ladybug565 (2216)
• United States
19 Nov 08
ok, I am 40 and my daughter is 14 we both just watched the clip twice. the toy was defenatly saying may the weed be with you. maybee we all need a long vacation!
2 people like this
@thebohemianheart (8827)
• United States
19 Nov 08
Ok, that was just weird. I thought it said may the force be with you, the first time, the second time, I heard weed (before it showed it on the screen) then I heard fwee and then force, one more time. That is one weird recording in that toy.*L*
2 people like this
@penny64 (1106)
• Australia
19 Nov 08
Yes, I'm the same now, but for ages all I could hear was "fWEEEE". What is even weirder is that sometimes the very first time it says it, you hear "force" and then again when you play exactly the same part of the clip, you hear "weed". It's the same with the toy. I'm sure it is doing the same thing every time, but there is some trick of nature that makes it sound different. Thanks for listening to it and for your response here! :)
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