Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4
#89177 12/09/02 10:18 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,597
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,597
Likes: 1
(Don't forget to look at Page 2 of Part 1. The way I forgot.)

So, what is the Olympus mnemonic and what are the nerves?

Are you sure you really wanted to know?

On Old Olympus' timbered tops, a Finn and German viewed some hops.


I Olfactory
II Optic
III Oculomotor
IV Trochlear
V Trigeminal
VI Abducens
VII Facial
VIII Auditory
IX Glossopharyngeal
X Vagus
XI (Spinal) Accessory
XII Hypoglossal

They are the Official names of the twelve cranial nerves, and are often referred to with Roman numerals. I put "Spinal" is in parentheses, because of the variant mnemonic that ran
"Oh, Oh, Oh, to touch and feel a girl's vagina, ah!"

which is the one I learned, and has an A instead of an S for number XI. My sister, on the other hand, being one of only four women in her class in a different medical school, learned about Old Olympus because since she was a girl no one would tell her the "real" mnemonic.

But, you know, the silly mnemonics work, and we still remember the sequence even though we haven't used it in forty years.

There's also the one about which nerves innervate the muscles that move the eye, which went (let's see how this preformatted text comes out)

  LR (SO )
6 4 3



That's a pseudo-chemistry formula, and it is read "L R six, S O four taken three times"
and means that the Lateral Rectus muscle is moved by the sixth nerve, the Superior Oblique by the fourth nerve, and the other four by the third nerve.

Medical school, and anatomy in particular, is just chock full of such delights.

I won't even begin to tell you about the mnemonic for the five branches of the third division of the trigeminal nerve. Come up with your own, the way my classmate George did. I will say only that they are the Temporal, Zygomatic, Buccal, Mandibular, and Cervical. (but I can PM you, if you insist.}




#89178 12/10/02 12:31 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
On the subject of cranial nerves, remember there are a lot of people with thirteen
cranial nerves - the extra one being their colossal nerve.


#89179 12/10/02 01:00 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
I'm confused. Now we have a fork in the road? But it looks like it makes sense.


#89180 12/10/02 01:05 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
how can I remember which one to look at?





formerly known as etaoin...
#89181 12/10/02 04:42 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
D
addict
Offline
addict
D
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
Medical school, and anatomy in particular, is just chock full of such delights.

http://www.medicalmnemonics.com


#89182 12/10/02 06:40 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144
R
member
Offline
member
R
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144
Chemistry also has some good ones -
to this day, I can remember my elderly, gray-haired chemistry teacher (17 years ago), prancing around the lab, singing:

H He
LiBeBCNOFNe
NaMgAlSiPSClAr
KCa

I appreciate that it doesn't have quite the same effect without the ludicrous musical accompaniment, but you'll just have to imagine that - it obviously worked though, 'cause I can still remember the elements order long after I've forgotten what they actually were.

The other chemistry one I know is a bit gruesome:
Little Johnny's dead and gone,
He'll be back no more.
For what he thought was H2O...
was H2SO4

And lastly, but probably most usefully are instructions for wiring a British plug:
You have a blue wire and a brown wire.
Blue has an 'L' in it and Brown has an 'R'
So, the blue wire goes to the left and the brown to the right
(and if they've given you an earth that only leaves one place for it to go)


#89183 12/11/02 12:30 PM
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
R
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
R
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
You have a blue wire and a brown wire.
Blue has an 'L' in it and Brown has an 'R'
So, the blue wire goes to the left and the brown to the right
(and if they've given you an earth that only leaves one place for it to go)

Trouble is, rkay, that I invariably hold the plug with the wire pointing away from me! Is this why the fuses in my house are always blowing?




#89184 12/11/02 01:30 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
blue wire goes to the left

And is that upside right or downside up?


#89185 12/11/02 05:27 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
In maths we used to use 'Soh Cah Toa Soc' for sine = opposite over hypotenuse, cosine = adjacent over hypotenuse, tangent = opposite over adjacent and sine over cosine = tangent. For some reason it worked well and has stayed with me.

It would be interesting to know why some things work and some don't. Has anyone done a study on it? Or is that WW's plan in addition to cornering the market in ukeleles (there was a great Jeeve's and Wooster book where the plot revolved about Bertie playing a uke, and Jeeves resigned in protest, must look it up).


#89186 12/15/02 01:56 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Here's a handy one if you like to combine music and mnemonics-- plus it gets us away from medicine and math and into the finer arts!
The most common French verbs that take etre instead of avoir Thanks for catching my earlier inversion! Wouldn't want give you all a bum steer!!
Forgive some spelling mistakes, it's been over 50 years since I learned it.

Alle, parti, sorti, venu,
Devenue, retourne.
Arrive, reste, rentre, entre,
Tombe,nee, et morte.



#89187 12/15/02 04:08 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Somehow, wow's Yankee Doodle reminded me of Honcl Brif, the long lost uncle a high school chemistry teacher taught me about. It's the elements that, when not combined with other things, form two atom molecules.

Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Clorine

Bromine
Iodine
Fluorine

I find it interesting that many of these mnemonics don't, on the face of them, seem very memorable. My pi mnemonic, My two rats leap... is a classic example. In that case there are even elements in the mnemonic phrase that have to be ignored and I don't have any problem remembering which ones they are. On the other hand, I have been unable to extend the mnemonic past the 35 digits that I have mastered.


#89188 12/16/02 02:50 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
B
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
B
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
The most common French verbs that take avoir instead of etre.

Since it's been more than 50 years, you're forgiven for getting it backwards -- these are the verbs that take etre instead of avoir.

Our mnemonic for the list was Mrs. Vandertamp
Monter
Retourner
Sortir
Venir
Aller
Naitre
Descendre
Entrer (and, by analogy, also rentrer)
Rester
Tomber
Arriver
Mourir
Partir


#89189 12/16/02 03:03 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,597
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,597
Likes: 1
You do bring back old memories!

We didn't do things by analogy -- we stuck "rentrer" in explicitly and had "Mrs VanDerTramp" !

And speaking of mnemonics that weren't particularly memorable, that same Mr Hills (of "Dr Grime" fame references provided upon request) also offered for the order of classification "KPC of GSV", meaning

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, Variety, [and always pronounced "VA-riety"].

Amazingly nonsensical, but it worked. I suppose having only two things to remember was more effective than eight.

#89190 12/17/02 02:02 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Doggone it, wow--you changed the title! I was enjoying thinking of it as "monomaniacs" up till then!


#89191 12/17/02 10:37 AM
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
An editor can't help but edit


#89192 12/17/02 07:40 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
But Mnemoniacs was a play on words--and this forum is Wordplay and Fun.

Maniacs who enjoy mnemonics would be mnemoniacs.

Editors;Schmeditors! I feel like I've had my hand slapped with a ruler.


#89193 12/18/02 02:01 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
I feel like I've had my hand slapped with a ruler. Well, I'd say you should expect anything, when you consort with "mnem" maniacs!


#89194 12/18/02 11:22 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Course, if you figure out *why these verbs take etre instead of avoir you don't need a mnemonic.


#89195 12/18/02 01:50 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
B
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
B
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 322
Which reminds me ...
I've never actually resorted to Mrs. Vandert(r)amp to figure out whether to use avoir or etre -- she just came in handy if we needed to list the verbs (on a test paper, par exemple).


#89196 12/18/02 02:00 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
came in handy if we needed to list the verbs (on a test paper, par exemple)

Typical of tests; don't measure the right things.


#89197 12/28/02 06:40 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
M
old hand
Offline
old hand
M
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
Forgive me, WW, if these have already appeared - I started to go through Mnemonics I and quailed at all the medical and astronomical things I knew I'd never remember, even with mnemonics!

but here are three I remember:

for the points of the compass, travelling clockwise from the top: Never Eat Shredded Wheat.

for the postal code of the CBC, Canada's national radio stations: Make 5 Weiners, I'll Eat 6 (M5W 1E6).

for spelunking: stalactites hang down from the ceiling, whereas stalgmites point up from the ground.

my apologies, again, if these were a repetition....


#89198 12/29/02 02:24 AM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Are lke ants in the pants. The mites go up and the tights go down.



TEd
#89199 12/30/02 03:11 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
if you figure out *why these verbs take etre instead of avoir you don't need a mnemonic.

If I was that smart I wouldn't need the mnemonic! Sigh! Not gifted language-wise. Got through French mostly because I had beautiful pronunciation which I attribute to my musical training (a good "ear".)



#89200 12/30/02 03:46 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
for the points of the compass, travelling clockwise from the top: Never Eat Shredded Wheat.

I'm all for the usefulness of mnenomics, but anyone would need *this one is entirely beyond me.


#89201 12/30/02 06:24 PM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296

#89202 12/30/02 06:32 PM
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
M
old hand
Offline
old hand
M
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 833
primary level elementary school students

I think that's where I heard it...! But like you, WW, I don't think of the compass points in a clockwise way....


#89203 12/30/02 06:38 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
It moves from North to South and then it moves across from East to West.

So, how do you remember which way to go from South?


#89204 01/02/03 04:11 PM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
R
addict
Offline
addict
R
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
And lastly, but probably most usefully are instructions for wiring a British plug:
You have a blue wire and a brown wire.
Blue has an 'L' in it and Brown has an 'R'
So, the blue wire goes to the left and the brown to the right
(and if they've given you an earth that only leaves one place for it to go)


A British plug has the letters N, L and E for Neutral, Live and Earth. The blue wire is Neutral and the brown wire Live so the simplest way to remember is to say Blue-Neu-tral. The Earth wire is Green and Yellow and is easy to remember.


#89205 01/03/03 06:04 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
In two bursts I replugged 31 appliances here in Britain when we shifted here from NZ. There are cutesey little wiring diagrams on every plug these days, but I remembered it instead using bLue bRown. So indirectly the mnemonic worked for me!

- Pfranz

#89206 01/07/03 03:59 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
All we had to remember was North at the top (apologies to antipodean sensibilities), and then WEst, so W on the left and E on the right.

Bingley


Bingley
#89207 01/11/03 03:40 PM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
W
wow Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Editors;Schmeditors! I feel like I've had my hand slapped with a ruler.

My apology Wordwind.


Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,429
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 508 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,597
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,922
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5