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To find the answer to your question, we reduced it down to the most essential words and typed "helium voice" into the search box of several different search engines. Browsing through the results of a Google search, we came across a very intriguing title: "Inhaling Helium Can Cause More Than a Funny Voice." It tells the story of a healthy 13-year-old boy who suffered a cerebral gas embolism after inhaling helium from a pressurized tank at a party. A word to the wise: Pressurized, industrial tanks are not for human consumption! Repeated inhalation of helium can hinder your ability to breathe. Yikes. 'Nuff said. Undaunted, we pressed on. The column titled "Squeaky voice & helium" came from an archive called Ask a Scientist, offered by Newton, a resource for science educators. Here's what we learned: Helium is an inert gas that is lighter than air and can be inhaled briefly without risk of death. Sound is produced by vibration, the movement of air around our vocal chords. Because helium gas is lighter than the usual oxygen/nitrogen blend, it changes the resonant frequency of the human vocal tract, causing a faster vibration and a higher-pitched, cartoon-character sound. Next, we started looking for a sound file that featured a voice distorted by helium. Along the way we found a technical article on the physics of
"The Helium 'Donald Duck' Effect," but not much sign of a sound file. Finally, Dominique, an astute Yahoo! surfer, helped us locate LBJ & the Helium Filled Astronaut, a hilarious story from NPR's Lost and Found Sound archive that you can read, or, better yet, listen to.
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