One of those days with the kids

I don't get why my kids whine. Oh sure, all kids do at some point, and I know there are kids who whine much more than mine do. But I don't get it. I've read waaaaaaay too many parenting books and I know the "expert's" reasons for why kids whine. My kids don't seem to fall into the grouings that the "experts" throw out. They weren't tired, hungry, or blah blah blah. They were misunderstood. Why in the world does that mean they need to whine? It escalated to crying and screaming, because, of course, I was on the phone. First time I had been on the phone in 3 hours. I'm so tired of listening to the whining. They don't get what they want when they whine. They get to go to their rooms. When I hear whining, it feels as though pieces of me are being ripped out of me, slowly and painfully. A brief time out for us all, then we can rejoin each other and try to be better people.
Did I whine that much as a kid? I don't think I've ever asked my mom. I'll do that. Think she remembers?