The New Fountain Of Youth: The Ability To Hear A Mosquito Ringtone

Not long ago, I saw a short item in our local newspaper about a Mosquito Ringtone. It caught my attention because, although a real ignoramus when it comes to technology, I DID know what a ringtone was -- but a mosquito ringtone? That was a new one to me.

What I did not know was that you could purchase new ringtones for your cell phone whenever you decided it was time for a change. Silly me, I thought you were stuck with whatever ringtone your phone started out with, and that you would need to purchase a new phone if you wanted a different ringtone. I guess it should have been obvious, as even on a short visit to the grocery store I may hear anything from a complete rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, to some teen-age stuff I couldn't identify if my life depended on it.

Anyway, it seems that some manufacturer came up with a really obnoxious noise that was supposed to drive kids away from a particular shopping center. The noise was pitched at a frequency that children and young people could hear, but older people, generally those over age 20, could not hear at all. It worked quite well, and the adults were enjoying a kid-free environment to do their shopping.

It didn't stop there, though. Other manufacturers seized on the idea to make a ringtone for cell phones and market it with the idea that kids could get text messages without their teachers or parents being aware of it.

Apparently, the new Mosquito Ringtone is all the rage. Kids love it. Teachers and parents do not.

When I asked my Granddaughter if she had her new ringtone yet, she hadn't heard of it, but rushed to the internet and found that she could pick up one for only $2.98. What a bargain. And, as an added attraction, the website she visited had a trial download she could use to test it out to see if she could hear it. I couldn't. She could. So could her 3 and 6 year-old sisters. Unfortunately, so could her forty something Mom and Dad. She was crushed. I haven't told her my suspicions, yet; that they might not be telling her the whole truth.