The Wilhelm Scream

I first heard of this when reading a back issue of Wired. I knew I'd heard it before. We all have.

Pretend an alligator just bit off your arm. Now scream. That's what a voice actor did to overdub a shriek for the 1951 film Distant Drums. Little did he realize he was making cinematic history. Over the years, audio engineers have reused the so-called Wilhelm Scream in dozens of films, making the girlish screech a punch line in the industry. "It's an inside geek joke among sound designers," says Matthew Wood of Skywalker Sound — one that's shown up in everything from Star Wars to this year's Transformers.

Here's the article: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/15-10/st_scream

It's amazing and kind of cool how many times Hollywood has used this. If I ever made a movie I'd definitely have it in there.