Star Trek's Tribbles Got Their Noise From A Very Unlikely Animal

• Television
• Science Fiction Shows

There are all kinds of beloved alien species in "Star Trek," and then there are the tribbles. These fast-reproducing little balls of fur are both adored and hated with equal passion; they're just the kind of critter that can get on your nerves (and totally mess up your starship if you're not careful). First appearing in the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode "The Trouble with Tribbles," where they harassed Captain Kirk (William Shatner), the wiggling furballs are best known for their ability to breed faster than rabbits and the bizarre sound they make. It's sort of a cross between squeaking and cooing (think of an autotuned guinea pig), and while it's kind of cute in small doses, it quickly gets annoying. Trust me: My brother had a tribble toy that would make that sound back when I was a kid (emphasis on had).

But where did that noise come from? In a 2016 interview with Audible, "Star Trek: The Original Series" sound mixer Doug Grindstaff revealed that the tribbles' sound came from an animal that's usually thought of as having a soothing call, not an annoying one: doves! That's right, that weird tribble noise started off as the call of doves, though Grindstaff definitely tweaked things a bit to distinguish the signature sound of tribbles from the cooing birds.

The sound of tribbles is actually a modified dove's call

According to the interview, Grindstaff used the sound of a dove and then modified it via some pretty surprising methods:

"You'd slow it down, you'd speed it up, turn it backwards, stick a razorblade on the mag [audiotape track]. I would use scissors to cut it. I would use sandpaper. I would use emory board. I would use steel wool. Anything that I could do to make things work. And you could take a sound and you could speed it up and speed it up again and again and a new sound would come out."

By taking the sound of a dove and seriously messing with it, Grindstaff was able to come up with the trademark chirrup of the tribbles. It's a sound that's lasted well beyond "Star Trek: The Original Series," having since been carried over into "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Prodigy," on top of being referenced in non-"Star Trek" shows like "Futurama." And while it's not the most pleasant noise in the world, knowing it comes from doves is extra funny, given that their closest relatives are pigeons (which are sort of the feathered Earth version of tribbles, honestly). 

Using the sound of a bird's call to create another animal's coo isn't too weird, especially in a profession that can see sound designers using crunching vegetables for snapping bones and the jaws of alligators for T-Rexes. Just don't listen to that tribble sound on repeat, or you might end up feeling as flummoxed as Captain Kirk up to his neck in the little guys.