# Is there a name for this effect? Does anyone else get it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847 "2009-01-24T23:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/21 "2009-01-25T02:48:42Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > It’s iambic pentameter. Iambic, sure, but it’s not, in itself, pentameter. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/22 "2009-01-25T02:50:02Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I ddissagree, jjimm. I think’s nice sounding. It’s alliteration. It’s iambic pentameter. It doesn’t imply self-serving discrepancy. se-MAN-tic SAY-SHE-AY shun. WOOSH. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/23 "2009-01-25T06:29:54Z")
I think “jamais vu” is perhaps closest: > **[Jamais vu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamais_vu)** > > In psychology, jamais vu (/ˌʒæmeɪ ˈvuː/ ZHAM-ay VOO, US: /ˌʒɑːm-/ ZHAHM-, .mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}French: \[ʒamɛ vy\]), a French loanword meaning "never seen", is the phenomenon of experiencing a situation that one recognizes in some fashion, but that nonetheless seems novel and unfamiliar. > Jamais vu is often described as th... Ed ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/24 "2009-01-25T15:58:37Z")
I once convinced myself I had only imagined there was such a word as ‘bread’ by repeating it over and over. Some sort of repeated stimulus fatigue, I guess - maybe like when you’re in a room with a bad smell, you don’t notice it after a while. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/25 "2009-01-25T16:45:50Z")
For me, it often happens with the simplest words, like “milk” or “work”. Thank the OP for this thread, very reassuring it is. ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/26 "2009-01-25T17:14:43Z")
I used to work in a place where once in a while I would have to write “Office of Admissions” on 300+ lunch tickets. Even though I did all of these in a row, it’s amazing how so many people got ones with admissions spelled wrong. It was like my brain would stop halfway through writing it and go “What IS that word?!” ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/27 "2009-01-26T00:26:29Z")
[Chicken chicken chicken.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk) ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/28 "2009-01-26T00:34:57Z")
A few years ago, I was reading a book and saw the word “blood.” I read it with a long ‘o’ or like 'blewd." I kept thinking, “Blewd. Blewd. What the hell is that word?” Odd that. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/29 "2009-01-26T01:28:12Z")
This happens to me all the time when I’m grading kids’ papers, especially after the fortieth one or so, then someone misspells a word and I can’t remember how you really do spell the word for a minute. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/30 "2009-01-26T07:47:51Z")
Warmth. Warmth warmth warmth. After I stare at it for a moment, the word dissolves into individual letters that have no relation to one another. My least favorite word effect is when I routinely misspell a word, then pause and correct it, but do this so consistently that I’ve seen the correct and incorrect spellings almost as often. It wreaks havoc with my ‘feel’ for the word. Warmth warmth warmth. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/31 "2009-01-26T23:52:02Z")
I’ve had this happen to me. Most recently on the word “orchestral”. I knew it was spelled right, but my brain said it was worng, even after I looked it up. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/32 "2009-01-27T00:01:33Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > I was just thinking the same thing: “Yep, I know that, happens to me all the…wait, I can’t remember it happening for years.” > > Maybe it’s something you grow out of eventually. I can remember it a lot in my high school/college years, but never in the last decade or so. I can’t even do it with “elbow” or “hello” now. Yeah, I had that same reaction. It was one of those weird/cool things that happened to me a lot as a kid, though it hasn’t happened lately. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/33 "2009-01-27T01:54:28Z")
> [@Kat](#): > > Mushroom mushroom mushroom mushroom… Badger badger badger badger badger. To the OP: yes, this happens to me a lot. I also get words stuck in my head that keep popping up out of nowhere for a day or two. For some reason, today’s word is edentulous. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/34 "2009-01-27T02:44:28Z")
I remember this happening to me in the sixth grade with the word ‘quart’. Since then I’ve had complex and grand mal siezures, all sorts of odd brain feelings. I think that was the start of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/35 "2009-01-27T03:15:39Z")
This happens to me all the time when I’m scoring my Feud games. Today one answer was Reykjavik - it was spelled _eighteen_ different ways! I have to correct them all. God, I hope I spelled that right. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/36 "2009-01-27T11:25:21Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Reykjavik - it was spelled _eighteen_ different ways! Are you _sure_ it was spelled eighteen different ways? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/37 "2009-01-27T11:34:58Z")
I have had the effect of the OP and once years ago I had the opposite. I was a writing something and wrote something like, “I am shore we will have a good time.” I then realised that **shore** was not the spelling for the homophone that I intended. I must have wracked my brain for 5 minutes but could not come up with an alternate spelling or even a way to look it up, like it had to begin **sh**. I gave up and wrote “I am certain…” A minute later **sure** popped into my head. It was a very humbling experience. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/38 "2009-01-27T13:28:34Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > [Chicken chicken chicken.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL_-1d9OSdk) Click on the PDF link that goes with that youtube video and I guarantee that any sane person will suffer semantic saturation of the word “chicken.” > [@](#): > > SAY-SHE-AY shun. Have I missed a joke here or is that how you say “saturation”? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/39 "2009-01-27T16:40:32Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:38, topic:482847”] Click on the PDF link that goes with that youtube video and I guarantee that any sane person will suffer semantic saturation of the word “chicken.” Have I missed a joke here or is that how you say “saturation”? [/QUOTE] I thought he was saying semantic satiation? ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847/40 "2009-01-29T08:54:55Z")
That happened to me just tonight with the word, “blessing.” Blessing, blessing, blessing. I honestly can’t tell if I made that word up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-effect-does-anyone-else-get-it/482847.md?page=3)