Beep-beep
From Free net encyclopedia
"Beep-beep" is an onomatopoeia sound most commonly associated with the Road Runner in the Looney Tunes cartoons featuring the speedy-yet-flightless bird and his constant pursuer, Wile E. Coyote. Chuck Jones, the creator of the Road Runner, has stated that this sound, the only way the Road Runner can harm the Coyote, was inspired by hearing a Doppler-like effect as a worker carrying set backgrounds beep-beeped when he could not see where he was going. Although commonly quoted as "meep meep", Warner Brothers, the current owner of all trademarks relating to the duo, lists "Beep! Beep!" as the Road Runner's sound.
In 1978, Warner Brothers recycled the Road Runner's "beep-beep" sound for its TV series, Wonder Woman, which featured a tiny robot-on-wheels named Rover who makes the "beep-beep" sound on occasion.
So popular was the image of road-burning speed inspired by the Road-Runner, that Plymouth (a division of Chrysler Car Company) actually named one of their V8-powered "Muscle Car" models after the Road-Runner, and the car was fitted with decals of the road-runner and a warning-horn that made the well-known "beep-beep" sound when activated.
The Road Runner cartoon also later became associated with Time Warner's Road Runner cable internet service.
On an episode of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson meets the woman who originally recorded the sound for the cartoon ("they paid me for one [beep], then they doubled it up on the soundtrack").