A whistleblower you haven't heard
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0:01 - 0:06(Whistling)
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2:04 - 2:07(Applause)
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2:07 - 2:09Thank you.
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2:09 - 2:11(Applause)
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2:11 - 2:13Thank you very much.
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2:13 - 2:16That was whistling.
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2:16 - 2:19I'm trying to do this in English.
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2:19 - 2:23What is a chubby, curly-haired guy from Holland --
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2:23 - 2:25why is he whistling?
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2:25 - 2:29Well actually, I've [been] whistling since the age of four, about four.
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2:29 - 2:31My dad was always whistling around the house,
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2:31 - 2:34and I just thought that's part of communication in my family.
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2:34 - 2:36So I whistled along with him.
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2:36 - 2:40And actually, till I was 34,
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2:40 - 2:44I always annoyed and irritated people with whistling,
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2:44 - 2:46because, to be honest,
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2:46 - 2:49my whistling is a kind of deviant behavior.
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2:50 - 2:53I whistled alone. I whistled in the classroom.
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2:53 - 2:56I whistled on [my] bike. I whistled everywhere.
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2:56 - 2:59And I also whistled at a Christmas Eve party
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2:59 - 3:01with my family-in-law.
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3:01 - 3:04And they had some, in my opinion,
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3:04 - 3:06terrible Christmas music.
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3:06 - 3:08And when I hear music that I don't like,
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3:08 - 3:11I try to make it better.
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3:11 - 3:14So "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- you know it?
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3:14 - 3:17(Whistling)
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3:17 - 3:19But it can also sound like this.
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3:19 - 3:22(Whistling)
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3:22 - 3:24But during a Christmas party --
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3:24 - 3:27at dinner actually -- it's very annoying.
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3:27 - 3:29So my sister-in-law
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3:29 - 3:32asked me a few times, "Please stop whistling."
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3:32 - 3:34And I just couldn't.
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3:34 - 3:37And at one point -- and I had some wine, I have to admit that --
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3:37 - 3:40at one point I said, "If there was a contest, I would join."
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3:40 - 3:42And two weeks later
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3:42 - 3:45I received a text message: "You're going to America."
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3:45 - 3:47(Laughter)
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3:47 - 3:49So, okay, I'm going to America.
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3:49 - 3:51I would love to, but why?
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3:51 - 3:54So I immediately called her up, of course.
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3:54 - 3:56She Googled,
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3:56 - 3:58and she found this World Whistling Championship
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3:58 - 4:00in America, of course.
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4:02 - 4:05She didn't expect me to go there.
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4:05 - 4:08And I would have lost my face.
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4:08 - 4:10I don't know if that's correct English.
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4:10 - 4:12But the Dutch people here will understand what I mean.
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4:12 - 4:15(Laughter)
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4:15 - 4:17I lost my face.
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4:17 - 4:20(Applause)
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4:20 - 4:22And she thought, "He will never go there."
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4:22 - 4:24But actually I did.
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4:24 - 4:26So I went to Louisburg, North Carolina,
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4:26 - 4:30southeast United States,
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4:30 - 4:33and I entered the world of whistling.
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4:33 - 4:35And I also entered the world championship,
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4:35 - 4:38and I won there in 2004.
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4:38 - 4:41(Applause)
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4:41 - 4:43That was
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4:43 - 4:46great fun, of course.
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4:46 - 4:48And to defend my title --
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4:48 - 4:51like judokas do and sportsmen --
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4:51 - 4:53I thought, well let's go back in 2005,
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4:53 - 4:56and I won again.
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4:56 - 4:58Then I couldn't participate for a few years.
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4:58 - 5:00And in 2008 I entered again
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5:00 - 5:03in Japan, Tokyo, and I won again.
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5:03 - 5:06So what happened now
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5:06 - 5:09is I'm standing here in Rotterdam, in the beautiful city, on a big stage,
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5:09 - 5:11and I'm talking about whistling.
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5:11 - 5:15And actually I earn my money whistling at the moment.
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5:15 - 5:18So I quit my day job as a nurse.
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5:18 - 5:23(Applause)
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5:23 - 5:25And I try to live my dream --
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5:25 - 5:28well, actually, it was never my dream, but it sounds so good.
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5:28 - 5:30(Laughter)
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5:30 - 5:32Okay, I'm not the only one whistling here.
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5:32 - 5:34You say, "Huh, what do you mean?"
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5:34 - 5:37Well actually, you are going to whistle along.
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5:40 - 5:43And then always the same thing happens:
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5:43 - 5:45people are watching each other and think, "Oh, my God.
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5:45 - 5:47Why? Can I go away?"
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5:47 - 5:49No, you can't.
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5:51 - 5:53Actually it's very simple.
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5:53 - 5:55The track that I will whistle
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5:55 - 5:57is called "Fête de la Belle."
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5:57 - 6:00It's about 80 minutes long.
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6:00 - 6:03No, no, no. It's four minutes long.
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6:03 - 6:06And I want to first rehearse with you your whistling.
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6:07 - 6:09So I whistle the tone.
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6:09 - 6:11(Whistling)
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6:11 - 6:13(Laughter)
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6:13 - 6:16Sorry. I forgot one thing.
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6:16 - 6:18You whistle the same tone as me.
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6:18 - 6:20(Laughter)
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6:20 - 6:26I heard a wide variety of tones.
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6:26 - 6:33(Whistling)
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6:41 - 6:43This is very promising.
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6:43 - 6:45This is very promising.
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6:45 - 6:48I'll ask the technicians to start the music.
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6:48 - 6:51And if it's started, I just point where you whistle along,
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6:51 - 6:53and we will see what happens.
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6:58 - 7:00Oh, hah.
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7:00 - 7:02I'm so sorry, technicians.
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7:02 - 7:06(Laughter)
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7:06 - 7:08I'm so used to that.
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7:08 - 7:11I start it myself.
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7:11 - 7:13Okay, here it is.
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7:13 - 7:15(Laughter)
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7:15 - 7:18(Music)
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7:18 - 7:24(Whistling)
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7:33 - 7:35Okay.
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7:36 - 7:42(Whistling)
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8:23 - 8:25It's easy, isn't it?
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8:26 - 8:32(Whistling)
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9:00 - 9:03Now comes the solo. I propose I do that myself.
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9:06 - 9:12(Whistling)
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11:19 - 11:30(Applause)
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11:30 - 11:33Max Westerman: Geert Chatrou, the World Champion [of] Whistling.
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11:33 - 11:35Geert Chatrou: Thank you. Thank you.
- Title:
- A whistleblower you haven't heard
- Speaker:
- Geert Chatrou
- Description:
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At TEDxRotterdam, world champion whistler Geert Chatrou performs the whimsical "Eleonora" by A. Honhoff, and his own "Fête de la Belle." In a fascinating interlude, he talks about what brought him to the craft.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 11:36
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for A whistleblower you haven't heard | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A whistleblower you haven't heard | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for A whistleblower you haven't heard | ||
TED edited English subtitles for A whistleblower you haven't heard | ||
TED added a translation |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 11/24/2016.