You're listening to 20,000 Hertz, the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

I'm Dallas Taylor.

This is the story of how sound can impact our taste buds.

Order up! In 1984, a strange and remarkable thing happened across the restaurant industry, and it all had to do with fajitas.

Up until the early 1980s, Tex-Mex restaurants primarily served chili, enchiladas, and tacos as their

signature dishes. But in 1984, the fajita became all the rage. When the popularity of this

steak and pepper combo began to spread, national restaurant chains clamored to create the perfect

recipe. Some would focus on a unique spice blend, or the addition of side ingredients to lure in curious customers.

But chilies, the young Tex-Mex chain out of Dallas, took a different approach.

For them, a fajita order was treated like a performance.

Once the steak and vegetables were finished cooking,

the chef would plate the meal on a fiery hot skillet,

causing them to immediately crackle and hiss.

The server would then march the loud, sizzling skillet through ingredients, sound made all the difference.

During each meal time, once the first skillet sizzled down the aisles,

restaurant workers quickly discovered that fajita sales

would increase immediately. Chefs all across Chili's restaurants began referring to this phenomenon

as the fajita effect. In fact, once the first order of fajitas made its way to the kitchen,

the cooking staff would begin firing up the skillets and chopping ingredients for the massive

influx of fajita orders that were sure

to follow. Not only did their approach to serving fajitas proved to be a genius marketing tactic,

but the sizzle of the dish also provided a sense of flavorful freshness for those enjoying the entree.

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