We were talking about odd names the other day. Well, this isn’t about an odd name, but about a side effect of that name. I work in a hospital (IS Dept). The general pattern for extablishing a doctor’s identifier in the system is to use the first three letters of the last name and the first letter of the first name. So, for example, “Joe Smith, MD,” would have a mnemonic of “SMIJ.” As I’m sure most of us know, there are always bound to be silly codes as a result of such patterns. Anyway, my coworker just pointed out to me that one of the physician codes in the system ended up being entered as “SHIT” because that is the result of the aforementioned algorithm. Because I know that these combinations arise from time to time, I just said, “Well, it happens.”
Here’s one from my high school days that stuck with me for some reason.
When I was in HS is was common to add the suffixes -ness or -age to certain words to give a kind of playful slang to them. (e.g. I’m tired- total lack of sleepage; home with the flu - stuck inside with major fluness) (these aren’t the best examples but for some reason I can’t think of any, it used to be much easier, major getting oldness)
Anyway, one time one person said something that apparently was exactly what was on someone else’s mind, and as they laughed about it together one person said: (are you ready for this?)
My husband stopped in at a gas station for some Rolaids, which he almost always carries on his person for his chronic heartburn. So he went up to the cashier with his three rolls of Rolaids, and she asked him (just like she asks everybody else): “Do you have gas?”
Well, I just got a call from the Emergency Room. “Tor, we’re all having a good laugh about this, but can you tell me what [doctor]'s mnemonic is?” As I look the doctor up, sure enough, it’s the one that caused me to send the OP.
Glad that the doctor didn’t get bent out of shape about it. They’re talking to the Medical Staff Dept (which maintains the Provider Dictionary in the system) about getting it changed.
My friend was looking for an (apparantly) obscure brand of cigarettes called “Sweet Dreams”. Having nothing else to do that day, I accompanied him to a local tobacco shop, where he walked up to the shopkeeper and asked him directly, “Do you have Sweet Dreams?”
The shopkeeper had no knowledge of any such cigarettes, and so naturally thought my friend was inquiring about his nocturnal ruminations.
The look on the guy’s face as my friend tried to explain that he wasn’t some sicko pervert was absolutely priceless.
Near here is Moody Street. There is a building with several offices (some doctors)located there. The HUGE sign in front says: Moody Complex…when I first saw it, I thought: “First they called it *manic depression,*then it was bipolar disorder…now it’s moody complex!” When will it end? Oh, the insanity!
There’s this one real estate sign that’s been up for a long time now on some vacant lot, with a phone number for a company called “Diversified Reality”. I’ve always had this vision of some sort of Twilight Zone/Outer Limits style company that will send you to a parallel universe for the right price. Never have called the number, though…
Gotta get a picture of that sign before they take it down…
well, a name I came across a few years back as a file clerk cracked me up. the file had scrawled across the top in black sharpie, I shit you not, “Jack Kannoff”.
Back when DeathLlama and I were still “just friends” in college, we walked out of my apartment into the surprisingly chilly night air. Without a thought, I said, “Hello frigid air!” I paused as I realized what I said and looked at Bri, who apparently got it just as I did. Frigid air…Frigidaire! The refridgerator brand! Ooohhh…that’s where it came from!
There used to be a dentist in Redondo Beach: Dr. Chu.
There was an orthopedist in Manhattan Beach: Dr. Hurt.
The sister of Governor Jerry Brown had married a man named Rice. She was running for officer herself and was identified in radio ads as “Kathleen Brown Rice.”
How about the People’s Natural Gas Company, in western PA? As for people’s names, I’m not sure if this one was ever a real name, but I remember once hearing mention of a woman named “Carrie Hunt”.
