A440 is not a steak sauce, nor is it a tax form. Rather, A440 hz is the standard tuning for musical pitch. Why is that? The reasons include, but are not limited to: The oboe, church versus secular music, and the difficulty of France. Mike Rugnetta explains.

Special Thanks to Nicole He and Proprietous for their help with oboe details.

Sources:

– History of Performing Pitch: The Story of “A” by Bruce Haynes
https://www.amazon.com/History-Performing-Pitch-The-Story/dp/0810841851

– A=432hz: On the Proper Concert Pitch and a New Standardization of Tempo by Brendan Bombaci
https://www.amazon.com/432hz-Proper-Concert-Pitch-Standardization-ebook/dp/B009TTBOAI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1415310567&sr=8-3&keywords=concert+pitch

– Why does the orchestra always tune to the oboe?
http://www.rockfordsymphony.com/faqs/why-does-the-orchestra-always-tune-to-the-oboe/
– ISO 16:1975
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=3601

– Why is A4 the standard pitch reference for tuning?
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/18969/why-is-a4-the-standard-pitch-reference-for-tuning/18973#18973

– Why are orchestras tuned differently?
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/776/why-are-orchestras-tuned-differently

In a previous version of this episode, the music used was is (in order of appearance):

– Walking (In Tune), Rene Hell
– Swan Lake, Swan Theme, Tchaikovsky
– Polovtsian Dances, Borodin
– Piano Sonata 15, Beethoven (Digression Music)
– Peer Gynt: Morning Mood, Grieg
– Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor: Allegro – Battalia a 10, Biber