<p>We are lucky to get fantastic questions from our listeners here at Decoder Ring, and in this episode, we’re going to open up our mailbag to answer three of them. What are the origins of an eerie horror film string motif? Why do companies insist on telling callers to “listen closely” to menu options that could not possibly have changed? And when did we start using the indispensable eye roll?</p><p>In this episode, you’ll hear from historical musicologist <a href="https://musikwissenschaft.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/en/staff/professors/frank-hentschel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Frank Hentschel</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.elispindel.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eli Spindel</a>, artistic director of the <a href="https://www.thesob.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">String Orchestra of Brooklyn</a>. We also speak with writer <a href="https://www.nickgreenewriter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nick Greene</a>, <a href="https://www.holdcom.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Holdcom</a> CEO Andrew Begnoché, and linguist <a href="https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/CLIFT78500/Rebecca-Clift" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Rebecca Clift</a>.</p><p>This episode was produced by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung, our supervising producer. Decoder Ring is also produced by Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.</p><p>Special thanks to Nicole Holliday, and to <a href="https://leilehualanzilotti.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Leilehua Lanzilotti</a>, whose website <a href="https://www.shakennotstuttered.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shaken Not Stuttered</a> is a fantastic resource about extended techniques for strings.</p><p>If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a> or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281.</p><p>Get more of Decoder Ring with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of Decoder Ring and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Decoder Ring show page on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-ring/id1376577202" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3vYNA0Ki5sUHnYC9QwQnKl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or, visit <a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=plus_pod&amp;utm_content=Decoder_Ring&amp;utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/decoderplus</a> for access wherever you listen.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>