CONSTANT use of cellphones and the decline of working class jobs are contributing to the erosion of the age-old whistle according to new research.
Once heard constantly on the streets, in songs, on the stage and in the workplace it has nearly disappeared. Whistling aficionados are in agreement, no one is whistling while they work – or anywhere else for that matter. Cultural historian at Syracuse University, London, Chris Cook, said that whistling had all but disappeared over the last few decades.
A YouGov poll commissioned by the newspaper confirmed the trend illustrating that 70 percent of people were in agreement that they hear fewer people whistling compared with 20 or 30 years ago.
Half of those asked said they believed the decline was a result of the demise of working class culture, while a third said they were listening to iPods and personal music players instead of whistling.
John Lucas, co-author of A Brief History of Whistling said the sound of miners on their way to the pits or workers to and from the factories used to be common. He explained there were even whistling choirs on the buses on the way to work.
Lucas said other jobs also normally associated with whistling were gone. These included errand delivery boys, and the coalman.
The slow fizzle of whistling's popularity has also been linked to the decline of variety shows. – Daily Mail