In reviewing the Survival Instructions for the PSP for the revised 2nd edition, so to speak, I note that while I covered how many whistle blasts to signal help, I haven't exactly covered the entire world. (3 in Australia and North America and 6 in U.K. and Europe). Anyone here know how many are considered a signal for help in other areas of the world? Google has failed me so far.

I've noticed the same thing. 3 here in the USA, but lately I've been reading 6.

Short short short, long long long, short short short. Everyone understands that signal.

The Good Thing about Three, -is that it's a Number People can Easily Remember as Having Heard.

With Six, -You're Starting to Get Away from that! "Eh!, -Now How Many Whistle Blasts have I just Heard?!...",-People could Begin to Wonder.

Many Hearers will Do the Important Thing, -Which is to at Least Know that Something May Be Up!

But if a Clear Message in the Number of Whistle Blasts is the Aim!, -Six of them are Starting to Get Away From!, -a Number that People May Easily and Readily Remember!

Also, Maybe it's Just me, -But I somehow Have a Feeling that an Odd Number of such Signals (Here the Three), -Might Catch in the Memory Better!, -than an Even Number. (Here the Six).

In any event, -The Number of Whistle Blasts in various World Locations is What it is. On that I Know Not, -and Can't There be of Help. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]X-ray Dave[/email]

Actually, I am amazed at how many people I know that doesn't know what SOS means, and has no clue about morse code. Morse code just doesn't seem to be taught any more. The only morse code I know is SOS.

True, but if someone doesn't know what 3-short/3-long/3-short means, what are the chances they're going to know what any other distress signal sounds like?

In general, the most you can hope for with someone like that is that they'll realise that a pattern of whistles, being repeated over and over and over, is something that somebody whose phone number is 911 might be interested in.

A few years ago, a small tornado went through a recreational campground at Pine Lake, north of here; several people were killed, and many more injured. A local resident got some brilliant film footage of it as it went by his house. When he called up the Weather office a few weeks later to see if the film was of any use to them, they asked why he hadn't called 911 to report the tornado.

Stunned silence apparently ensued. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />