“I might get to stay home!” May that excitement last forever.
Over the past few years during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had many opportunities to have our body temperature checked. And non-contact thermometers have become widespread, haven't they? Actually, during that time, the manufacture of mercury thermometers was banned. According to the "Act on Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury," their manufacture has been prohibited since January 1, 2021.
“Even when using a digital thermometer, I find myself shaking it.”
That is exactly right. For the Showa generation, the memory of mercury thermometers has become ingrained...
On a morning when you were feeling a bit under the weather, have you ever hoped, "If the mercury column goes up just a little more, I might be able to stay home from school!"? I wonder if there are some of you who even cheated by tapping the thermometer with your finger to force the mercury to move.
“Teruteru Ashita (Tomoko Kano) Gentosha Bunko”I found the expression “I feel like it’s a bit scary, yet somewhat fun, to watch the mercury column rise rapidly.” in this book. This part, too, will become a "What's that?" moment for today's elementary school students.
So, this time, I will introduce 【Words that make elementary school students think, 'What's that?'】 found in works by authors frequently featured in junior high school entrance exams, specifically related to "first aid and medicine."
First, from “Ten no Hitomi: Shonen-hen I (Kenjiro Haitani)”
“Well, water then. Let’s cool it with water.” “I want ‘Isha-irazu’ (doctor-less),” Rintaro said. “What’s that?” “There’s aloe behind the school.”
“Isha-irazu” (doctor-less) is the term. Aloe, a succulent plant in the genus Aloe of the Asphodelaceae family, is called "Isha-irazu." It is said that the components contained in aloe help suppress inflammation and speed up recovery. You break the stem and apply the liquid that comes out to the affected area of cuts or burns.
When I was a child, including my own home, there was usually an aloe pot at the entrance of every neighbor's house. How nostalgic...
Next, from “Yonju-ichi-ban no Shonen (Hisashi Inoue),” which has appeared in many junior high school entrance exams such as Azabu Junior High and Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior High
They say medicine is nine times the cost, but Mother should know how thin the profit margin is in this business.
“Kusuri Kyuso-bai” (Medicine is nine times the cost) is the term. It is used to mean profiteering, based on the idea that the selling price of medicine is nine times its cost. It is not actually nine times, but a pun matching the sound of "ku" in "kusuri" (medicine) with the number "kyu" (nine).
There are also similar expressions such as “Hana Hasso-bai” (flowers eight times), “Sakana Sanso-bai” (fish three times), and “Gofuku Goso-bai” (clothing five times)”.
Now, please allow me to introduce other 【Words that make elementary school students think, 'What's that?'】 Part 40: "Words related to first aid and medicine."
Iodine tincture
A reddish-brown liquid used as an external antiseptic and stimulant. A diluted version is used to disinfect wounds.
Although the color is similar, iodine tincture and mercurochrome have different ingredients, and mercurochrome has less of that stinging sensation on wounds. Mercurochrome has also had its domestic manufacture regulated by the aforementioned "Act on Preventing Environmental Pollution of Mercury."
"If you put on red-chin it won't heal. If you put on black-chin, hair will grow."There were parody songs like this, too. Do you know them? (Originally, it's a song from the special effects hero show "Rainbowman.") When we were kids, we used to sing lyrics like this at the top of our lungs... (I find this and the Gatchaman parody song nostalgic.)
Wrapping in oblate (sugar paper)
Oblate is a thin film made of starch or similar materials, used to wrap bitter powdered medicine for swallowing. From this, it has come to mean avoiding expressions that might offend the other party and using softer language instead.
It seems that as bitter medicines began to come in capsules, the practice of wrapping them in oblate faded away. Nowadays, there are even jellies for taking medicine, aren't there?
Speaking of oblate, I think of"Bontan Ame (pomelo candy).""Bontan Ame""Bontan Ame"also appears in"Kimi no Tomodachi (Your Friend) by Kiyoshi Shigematsu."as well.
Bear bile
A medicine made by drying the gallbladder of a bear. It is a stomachic and is bitter.
If you search for it, a medicine called "Yutan-en" comes up. It has a bear on the package.
Ice pack (hyounou)
A rubber or similar bag used to cool an affected area by filling it with ice or water.
When I was a child, whenever I caught a cold, my father would say to me,
"Eat an orange and run toward the sun. Then you'll be cured!"
At the time, I thought, "What is that?" but I laughed when I heard Sanma Akashiya say the exact same thing on TV. It seems there is some scientific basis for it, too. (By the way, Sanma-san's family home is in the neighborhood, and we went to the same junior high school.)
When I was working at a prep school, there was an elementary school student who would do their best with a "cooling gel sheet" stuck to their forehead. That sight gave me energy, too.
Thank you for reading until the end.
May children's reading habits flourish and family conversations increase.
Next time, I plan to write about "words related to physical strength." Things like "groggy," "out of battery," and so on...
If you'd like, here is the previous article."Words related to hairstyles"Please take a look!