Let’s cut the mix and isolate the track for a second. If you spend any time on the internet-or if you were alive in the late 2000s-you know the clip. It’s not a song; it’s a moment. It is the Turtles Soundboard, the audio equivalent of a blank stare that speaks volumes.
But what exactly is this sound? It’s a short, low-fidelity recording of a child with zombie face paint delivering a completely unrelated answer to a news reporter’s question.
Why does it hold such a legendary status in pop culture? It’s the king of the non-sequitur. In the world of soundboards, we look for clips that have utility. This sound is the “Context Nuke.” It destroys the tension of a conversation instantly. It’s famous because it’s the perfect sonic punchline for when reality glitches, a streamer misses an easy shot, or a conversation hits an awkward wall. It’s not just a funny voice; it’s a mood reset button.
Tracing the Signal: The Story Behind the Turtles Soundboard
The Source Code: A Local News Segment Gone Rogue
To understand the Turtles Soundboard, we have to do a little sonic archeology. This isn’t a scripted line from a movie or a processed sample from a song. This is raw, field-recorded gold.
The audio originates from a KGW News segment in Portland, Oregon. Reporter Nancy Francis was covering the Rose Festival and found a 10-year-old boy named Jonathan Ware sporting some terrifyingly good zombie makeup.
From an audio engineering perspective, the magic here is in the contrast. The reporter pushes a lot of “air”-she has that high-energy, upward-inflection “TV news voice.” She asks, “What do you think of this?” expecting an excited squeal.
Instead, Jonathan delivers a flat, monophonic response right in the mid-range frequencies: “I like turtles.”
He doesn’t match her pitch. He doesn’t match her energy. He acts as a “sonic brake,” stopping the momentum of the interview dead in its tracks. That distinct lack of emotion is why the sound cuts through a chaotic gaming stream so perfectly.
From 2007 to Eternity: Why We Can’t Stop Listening
The clip hit the internet in 2007, uploaded to YouTube, where it became one of the platform’s earliest and most enduring viral sensations.
Why did it go viral? It wasn’t just the visual of the zombie kid; it was the timing. In audio post-production, we talk about “transients”-the initial burst of sound. The humor in the Turtles Soundboard isn’t just the words; it’s the silence immediately after the words.
You can hear the “noise floor” (the ambient crowd sound) swell as the reporter struggles to regain her composure. That awkward pause is universal. Whether you’re a Gen Z TikToker or a millennial who watched it happen live, that soundbite resonates because it represents the ultimate refusal to play along with social norms. It turned Jonathan Ware into an instant icon and solidified the phrase as a top-tier reaction sound for nearly two decades.
Final Mix: Why You Need This Button on Your Deck
At SoundboardMax.com, we believe great sound is timeless. The “I like turtles” clip is the “Little Black Dress” of sound effects—it goes with everything. It is a masterclass in deadpan comedy, proving that sometimes, saying less (and saying it weirdly) is more effective than screaming.
If you are a content creator, this sound is essential for those “brain-dead” moments or to deflate a situation that’s getting too serious. It adds a crunchy, lo-fi texture to your stream that tells your audience, “I’m in on the joke.”
Looking for something with a bit more high-frequency energy? If the Turtles sound is the king of awkward silence, you might want to check out the Nani Soundboard for when you need that sharp, anime-style shock factor.