The Wilhelm Scream

You've probably never heard of Ben Burtt, but trust me when I say you've heard some of his work. He's a sound designer, best known for his work on the Star Wars movies. R2-D2's voice? That was his idea. The sound of a lightsaber? He made that. Perhaps his greatest triumph, however was his discovery of The Wilhelm Scream. The original sound was used in the 1951 film Distant Drums (possibly by actor Sheb Wooley, who would later record "Purple People Eater"), when a character was dragged underwater by an alligator. When a young Ben Burtt found this reel, labeled "Man being eaten by alligator", he remembered the sound having been used several times in movies from his childhood. Many people credit him for bringing it back to light, as it can be seen in most movies nowadays. It was named after Wilhelm, a character in the 1953 movie Charge at Feather River, who screams after being shot by an arrow. WARNING: After watching this, I was unable to see a single movie without hearing this scream. It's totally in most movies you see nowadays.

You can find a full history of the scream here. Sadly, after Ben Burtt left Lucasfilms for Pixar, he stated he would no longer be using the scream. But he is doing the sound for Pixar's new film, and its eponymous robot, Wall-E (Look up the trailer. Looks so cute).

Also, check out this picture of a origami Cthulhu I found.