Monday Mind Game

Do you know where words are stored in your brain…? (If you said, “Temporal Lobe”, go to the head of the class)

Your brain has two sides (hemispheres), so you have one temporal lobe on each side of the brain.

If you are right-handed, your language is stored mostly in your left temporal lobe. If you are left-handed, you are not so lateralized and your language is stored a bit on both sides of your brain in the temporal lobes.

Words in the brain are not stored randomly. They seemed to be quite organized. Research has shown that words that are often heard together (such as salt and pepper) or words that share some meaning (such as nurse and doctor) are connected or associated in the brain. Once you hear one, the other is activated.

Here's a brain exercise whose aim is to stimulate the connections or associations between words in your temporal lobe.

Below is a column of 11 words. Your goal is to find a third word that is connected or associated with both of these two words. For example, the first pair is PIANO and LOCK. The answer is KEY. Also, to toss a little sump’n sump’n into the mix, there may be more than one correct answer. Bonus points if you get more than one.

Good luck!

1. LOCK – PIANO

2. SHIP – CARD

3. TREE – CAR

4. SCHOOL – EYE

5. PILLOW – COURT

6. RIVER – MONEY

7. BED – PAPER

8. ARMY – WATER

9. TENNIS – NOISE

10. EGYPTIAN – MOTHER

11. SMOKER – PLUMBER

Give up?  (Really?? That quickly??)

Drag your cursor between the asterisks for the answers

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  1. LOCK - PIANO = KEY

  2. SHIP - CARD = DECK

  3. TREE - CAR = TRUNK

  4. SCHOOL - EYE = PUPIL, EXAM, PRIVATE

  5. PILLOW - COURT = CASE

  6. RIVER - MONEY = BANK, FLOW

  7. BED - PAPER = SHEETS

  8. ARMY - WATER = TANK

  9. TENNIS - NOISE = RACKET

10. EGYPTIAN - MOTHER = MUMMY

11. SMOKER - PLUMBER = PIPE

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