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In your area/country, did you have a word or phrase to describe the static white noise on a television set not tuned to a channel? (upload.wikimedia.org)

submitted 3 months ago by Rentlar@lemmy.ca to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

105 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Bonus points if there's a known onomatopoeia to describe the sound.

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[–] Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 15 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Back in the days when we all had antennas and cable hadn't been born yet, the static stations were a great thing to watch if there might be a tornado in your area. Apparently if one formed, it would significantly change the look of the snow on the TV and give you a warning to quickly head to the basement. I never actually saw it happen, but there were a couple times we had local warnings and my parents plopped me down to keep an eye on the TV.

[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Never heard about this. Interesting tid bit.

I remember getting our first tv about 1982 I think.

[–] Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I actually started questioning whether this was something my parent's told me to keep me busy, but turns out it's a real thing.

[–] joranvar@feddit.nl 3 points 3 months ago

That is an interesting source. Thanks for the link!