--- title: Here's How the Car Alarm Challenge First Started description: The car alarm challenge is getting people doing their best impressions of a high-pitched car alarm, and it's spreading. canonical: https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-31T15:11:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:58:27.660Z og:title: The Car Alarm Challenge Has Inspired People to Sound Off og:description: "My secret talent" og:url: https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Car Alarm Challenge Has Inspired People to Sound Off twitter:description: "My secret talent" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Viral Car Alarm Challenge Has Inspired a Lot of People to Do Their Best Automobile Impressions by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 31, 2019 3:11 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 31, 2019 3:11 PM UTC The [latest internet trend](http://time.com/5515262/people-eat-fingers/) to rev people up on Twitter is encouraging people to show off their [vocal chops](http://time.com/5532348/rihanna-birthday-internet-challenge/) with a pretty universally dreaded sound: a car alarm. Naturally dubbed the “[car alarm challenge](http://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/),” the idea first kicked off after [Twitter user P\_gibb](https://twitter.com/P%5Fgibb/status/1111056188475498496) posted a recording of her performing a high-pitched wail with a simple caption. “My secret talent, CAR ALARM,” she wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/P%5Fgibb/status/1111056188475498496) The trendsetting woman set a high bar for impersonating a car’s first line of defense against theft. But people are along for the ride with their best operatic efforts. “GREAT LIGHTING & SOLID NECK CHOPPING IS KEY,” wrote Tony Cavalero of his effort. > [](https://twitter.com/TonyCavalero/status/1112118158998097921) > [](https://twitter.com/manan/status/1112078850991755265) > [](https://twitter.com/Cyn728/status/1112150806860582915) > [](https://twitter.com/chillontheshore/status/1111470899100876801) > [](https://twitter.com/jeaninepphoto/status/1112144430314766336) And here’s a softer version. > [](https://twitter.com/JayKondrk77/status/1112336572421148676) Of course, the blaring sound of a car alarm can be incredibly infuriating, particularly when it goes off non-stop when you’re trying to sleep. People have even [lobbied to get car alarms banned](https://www.city-journal.org/html/let%E2%80%99s-ban-car-alarms-12217.html). But that certainly hasn’t stopped people from giving this feat their best shot. It’s not the easiest trick to master. In fact, it looks like the move is to crane your neck, sound off and use your hand to punctuate the tone, which requires some decent coordination and breath work. Birds can give humans a run for their money when it comes to sounding like a car alarm. Look no further than the David Attenborough-narrated clip below for this vocally gifted creature’s best effort. Listen to the new song of spring for yourself. Cleanse your audio palette with a sampling of car alarm challenge videos below. > [](https://twitter.com/ENORME%5FSAUCISSE/status/1111919295406190592) > [](https://twitter.com/wowkarate/status/1112114633878327296) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/"},"headline":"Viral Car Alarm Challenge Has Inspired a Lot of People to Do Their Best Automobile Impressions","datePublished":"2019-03-31T15:11:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:58:27.660Z","description":"\"My secret talent\"","url":"https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5561726/car-alarm-challenge/","name":"Viral Car Alarm Challenge Has Inspired a Lot of People to Do Their Best Automobile Impressions"}}]}] ```