Have You Ever Blown A Giant Sea Mollusk Before?

I know, it’s a loaded question. I don’t normally watch television, but a few days ago my son was watching cartoons and I overheard a commercial talking about the Conch Honk. I have never heard of a Conch Honk, but it sounded like fun, so I had to research it.

A Conch Honk is an annual event where people compete for who can blow the best into a giant sea mollusk. I’ve never blown a conch, but apparently, if you do it right, it sounds like a trumpet. Usually participants are placed into different categories depending on their conch blowing experience. For example, at the Key West event, people are divided into “novices” and “pucker pros.”

No music ability or talent is required to blow a conch. People are usually judged on the length and loudness of the sound, and also, the richness of the tone (experienced conch blowers can make a very deep tone). Below are some pictures from a recent Conch Honk event. The next time I’m at a souvenir shop and I see one of these sea shells, I’m buying one for sure.

I don’t think I would be brave enough to blow my conch in front of anyone, after all, that seems like a private activity to me. ;)