I went to a going-away party last night for a friend. She's a teacher, so most of the people there were teachers, too. And they were all very nice, and I drank a little sangria and chatted with some of them while Eric and Wain sat slightly apart from everyone and got drunk.
Anyway, after a while another woman showed up and announced that she's pregnant, and everyone did the collective female "oooahhhh."
What is this noise? It seems to only happen in groups of two or more women and to coincide with the mention of puppies, kitties, babies and/or viable fetuses, and engagement rings.
It starts with a mass inhalation of air and a squeal and then spirals ever higher until it trails off to reveal one or two lingering murmurs of phrases like "oh, that is wonderful," or "mmm, absolutely adorable." Is this practice universal? Does it serve some sort of evolutionary purpose? Because it sends cold shivers through my entire skeleton.