--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Helium is widely recognized as an…" description: "\"“Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter, low-density gas that, when inhaled, temporarily increases the vibrational frequency of your windpi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png" --- # Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter… ![“Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter, low-density gas that, when inhaled, temporarily increases the vibrational frequency of your windpipe and larynx, making you sound like Mickey Mouse.” quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png) > ““Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter, low-density gas that, when inhaled, temporarily increases the vibrational frequency of your windpipe and larynx, making you sound like Mickey Mouse.”” [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inhaling helium changes vocal pitch, illustrating how gases affect sound production in the body. **In simple terms:** Helium makes your voice high‑pitched. Key Takeaway Use helium to demonstrate sound physics. Themes science education humor physics Mood informative playful Type educational entertaining When to use this quote - classroom demo - science show - party trick - educational video Key Concepts acoustics gas properties vocal tract Questions to Reflect On - Why does helium alter voice? - What safety concerns exist with inhaling gases? A Different Perspective Effect is temporary and can be unsafe if misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Density Gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/density-gas-3431595/) [Gas Inhaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gas-inhaled-3431593/) [Helium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helium/) [Helium Widely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helium-widely-3431592/) [Increases Vibrational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increases-vibrational-3431594/) [Mickey mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mickey-mouse/) ## Related quotes > [“As the cosmos continues to cool—dropping below a hundred million degrees—protons fuse with protons as well as with neutrons, forming atomic nuclei and hatching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/as-the-cosmos-continues-to-cool-dropping-below-a-hundred-million/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“helium became the first and only element in the chemist’s Periodic Table to be discovered someplace other than Earth. Okay,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/helium-became-the-first-and-only-element-in-the-chemist-s-periodic/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Further analysis of the Sun’s spectrum revealed the signature of an element that had no known counterpart on Earth. Being of the Sun, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/further-analysis-of-the-sun-s-spectrum-revealed-the-signature-of-an/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Our entire universe emerged from a point smaller than a single atom. Space itself exploded in a cosmic fire, launching the expansion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/our-entire-universe-emerged-from-a-point-smaller-than-a-single-atom/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ In a certain sense I made a living for five or six years out of that one star \[Ï… Sagittarii\] and it is still… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-l-greenstein/in-a-certain-sense-i-made-a-living-for-five-or-six-years-out-of-that/) [Jesse L. Greenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-l-greenstein/) > [When the moon was first visited in 1969, the astronauts brought back a treasure trove of unique minerals. Contained within specimens was an isotope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/when-the-moon-was-first-visited-in-1969-the-astronauts-brought-back-a/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [“I regard breathing industrial gas to be as harmful as heavy smoking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-regard-breathing-industrial-gas-to-be-as-harmful-as-heavy-smoking/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“On Earth, we’d just use glue, but here the only fluid was helium, which has lots of interesting properties, but is definitely not sticky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/on-earth-we-d-just-use-glue-but-here-the-only-fluid-was-helium-which/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [Sometimes, when people are talking to me about something I have no interest in and that glazed over look takes me, I imagine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-people-are-talking-to-me-about-something-i-have-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nuclear fusion of light elements like hydrogen or helium would permit approaching the speed of light. It seems very attractive to refuel your space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-greatbatch/nuclear-fusion-of-light-elements-like-hydrogen-or-helium-would-permit/) [Wilson Greatbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-greatbatch/) > [The federal helium program sells vast amounts of the gas to U.S. companies that use it in everything from party balloons to MRI machines.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/the-federal-helium-program-sells-vast-amounts-of-the-gas-to-u-s/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [Liquid helium belongs to a class of fluids known as quantum fluids, as distinct from classical fluids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/liquid-helium-belongs-to-a-class-of-fluids-known-as-quantum-fluids-as/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [Well I’ve been doing it for about twenty years, I did films when I was a little kid, when I was about six or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-libman/well-i-ve-been-doing-it-for-about-twenty-years-i-did-films-when-i-was/) [Andrea Libman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-libman/) > [We, all of us, are what happens when a primordial mixture of hydrogen and helium evolves for so long that it begins to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-all-of-us-are-what-happens-when-a-primordial-mixture-of-hydrogen/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [There are few moments in science in which you genuinely are excited. The discovery of superfluidity in helium-3 was one of those moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/there-are-few-moments-in-science-in-which-you-genuinely-are-excited/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) ## More by Neil deGrasse Tyson > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The Pacific is the best toilet for satellites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-pacific-is-the-best-toilet-for-satellites/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If you seek only easy problems to solve, then ultimately, there'll be nothing about you to distinguish yourself from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-you-seek-only-easy-problems-to-solve-then-ultimately-there-ll-be/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I've said multiple times that the world's first trillionaire is going to be the person who exploits the resources of asteroids, the natural resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-ve-said-multiple-times-that-the-world-s-first-trillionaire-is-going/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We explore our environment, more than we are compelled to utter poetry, when we're toddlers. We start doing that later. Before that happens, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-explore-our-environment-more-than-we-are-compelled-to-utter-poetry/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can't have people making decisions about the future of the world who are scientifically illiterate. That's a recipe for disaster. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/you-can-t-have-people-making-decisions-about-the-future-of-the-world/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Science surrounds you. It's not something that you can step aside, step over or push out of your way because you were never good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-surrounds-you-it-s-not-something-that-you-can-step-aside-step/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The idea that God resides in the unknown is what philosophers call the God of the gaps. And we have this thing called science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-idea-that-god-resides-in-the-unknown-is-what-philosophers-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Everybody's got money for vacation time. Look at how much we all spend just to get - well, I get sick on the loop-the-loop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/everybody-s-got-money-for-vacation-time-look-at-how-much-we-all-spend/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) [Explore all 1,143 Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) ## More Helium quotes > [There are few moments in science in which you genuinely are excited. The discovery of superfluidity in helium-3 was one of those moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/there-are-few-moments-in-science-in-which-you-genuinely-are-excited/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [We, all of us, are what happens when a primordial mixture of hydrogen and helium evolves for so long that it begins to ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/we-all-of-us-are-what-happens-when-a-primordial-mixture-of-hydrogen/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [Well I’ve been doing it for about twenty years, I did films when I was a little kid, when I was about six or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-libman/well-i-ve-been-doing-it-for-about-twenty-years-i-did-films-when-i-was/) [Andrea Libman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-libman/) > [Our entire universe emerged from a point smaller than a single atom. Space itself exploded in a cosmic fire, launching the expansion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/our-entire-universe-emerged-from-a-point-smaller-than-a-single-atom/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Liquid helium belongs to a class of fluids known as quantum fluids, as distinct from classical fluids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee/liquid-helium-belongs-to-a-class-of-fluids-known-as-quantum-fluids-as/) [David Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee/) > [The federal helium program sells vast amounts of the gas to U.S. companies that use it in everything from party balloons to MRI machines.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/the-federal-helium-program-sells-vast-amounts-of-the-gas-to-u-s/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [Nuclear fusion of light elements like hydrogen or helium would permit approaching the speed of light. It seems very attractive to refuel your space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-greatbatch/nuclear-fusion-of-light-elements-like-hydrogen-or-helium-would-permit/) [Wilson Greatbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-greatbatch/) > [Sometimes, when people are talking to me about something I have no interest in and that glazed over look takes me, I imagine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-people-are-talking-to-me-about-something-i-have-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“On Earth, we’d just use glue, but here the only fluid was helium, which has lots of interesting properties, but is definitely not sticky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/on-earth-we-d-just-use-glue-but-here-the-only-fluid-was-helium-which/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) > [“I regard breathing industrial gas to be as harmful as heavy smoking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-regard-breathing-industrial-gas-to-be-as-harmful-as-heavy-smoking/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When the moon was first visited in 1969, the astronauts brought back a treasure trove of unique minerals. Contained within specimens was an isotope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/when-the-moon-was-first-visited-in-1969-the-astronauts-brought-back-a/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) > [ In a certain sense I made a living for five or six years out of that one star \[Ï… Sagittarii\] and it is still… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-l-greenstein/in-a-certain-sense-i-made-a-living-for-five-or-six-years-out-of-that/) [Jesse L. Greenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-l-greenstein/) > [You sounded like Dolly parton on helium." (After kristy lee cook of season 7 on american idol,sang her country rendition of the Beatles'"Eight Days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/you-sounded-like-dolly-parton-on-helium-after-kristy-lee-cook-of/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [“sweaty palms. check. shaky bones. check. the feeling that all oxygen in the air has been replaced by helium. yup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/sweaty-palms-check-shaky-bones-check-the-feeling-that-all-oxygen-in/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Tired of burning fossil fuel and polluting the planet? The moon is covered with helium 3, an isotope from the sun that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-hickam/tired-of-burning-fossil-fuel-and-polluting-the-planet-the-moon-is/) [Homer Hickam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-hickam/) [Browse all 62 Helium quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helium/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter, low-density gas that, when inhaled, temporarily increases the vibrational frequency of your windpipe and larynx, making you sound like Mickey Mouse.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-the-counter-low-density-gas/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Helium" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-the-counter-low-density-gas/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/neil-degrasse-tyson-143_helium_helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-t_1176448.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Helium is widely recognized as an over-the-counter, low-density gas that, when inhaled, temporarily…” — Neil deGrasse Tyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neil deGrasse Tyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Helium is widely recognized as an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-the-counter-low-density-gas/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/helium-is-widely-recognized-as-an-over-the-counter-low-density-gas/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```