Whiplash! – “W”, double ‘a’, double ‘t’…What gives?

Whiplash: An injury to the neck caused by an abrupt jerking motion of the head, either backward or forward; And in the case of writing or speaking, can be caused by a rapid change of topic without prior notice.

Whiplash! – “W”, double ‘a’, double ‘t’…What gives?

What is with all these double letters? What purpose do they serve? Wouldn’t Aaron be pronounced the same as “Aron”? What about words like better, attempt, ammonia, and inning? Wouldn’t they sound the same without doubling the letters?  I can understand the double “o” in Balloon because “oo” is pronounced differently than just one “o”, but why the double “l”? And the big question…why is the letter “W” pronounced “double-u”? Shouldn’t it be “double-v”? That’s what it is in French and even German pronounces it “V”.

Whiplash!

A teacher colleague once said to me, “Worry is interest paid on things that never happen.” Some people spend their lives worrying and prevent themselves from enjoying what is happening right in front of them. I’m not saying that worrying is a bad thing necessarily. There are times when worrying about something helps you. If I’m worried about getting sick, I can take measures to prevent that from happening. If I’m worried about driving on a road, where there have been many accidents, I can take precautions and be more aware of other drivers around me.

It’s when you constantly worry that you are doing damage to yourself. Constant worry, takes a toll on your body, whether it be increased stress or ulcers or an inability to think straight. It’s very hard to be optimistic if you are a perpetual worrier because there is no positive outlook.

So think about your worries and what they’re doing to you. I told someone recently who was worried about what was going to occur tomorrow, “Tomorrow is tomorrow’s worry, not today’s.”  Remember the words of the Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

Whiplash!

How much water do you drink a day? You’re supposed to have at least 8 – 8oz.  glasses of it according to all the health experts. That to me is a lot of water. I usually have a large cup of green tea every morning, which is about 16 ozs. When I’m teaching, I have that 16 oz. mug with me and usually fill it up constantly with water until the end of my teaching day. In those cases, I might have my 8 – 8oz. glasses of liquid, if you add what I drink at lunch and the milk I drink at supper. But when I’m not teaching, it is only the breakfast, lunch and dinner liquids. If I work on the lawn or clean the house, I’m liable to drink a glass of juice afterward, or if I feel a cold coming on, I’ll drink a lot to try and flush whatever I’m getting out of my system faster. Does it help me? I guess so; at least that’s what all the experts say.

What about you? How many glasses of water do you have a day and how many glasses of other liquids do you drink? Do you feel helped by it?

Whiplash!

Challenge: Try and write a sentence that uses a lot of words spelled with double letters. Take out one of each of the double letters and let someone else read it. Does it sound the same? Are you a worrier? How much do you let it affect your day? Do you consider all the other liquids you drink an acceptable replacement for the water you don’t drink?

The final countdown…“X” cuses, that’s all that is given for these changes.