Follow Up to “A Mnemonic for the 45th parallel”.
Revised Mon Jul 26 06:39:30 2021 UTC
This article dovetails with https://bartshmatthew.medium.com/a-mnemonic-for-the-75th-parallel-north-that-uses-nonsense-syllables-ceefef3f9389 because that one uses the same system of indicating the longitudes with vowels and diphthongs.
Doing (the important part of) the western hemisphere in the same way as the eastern hemisphere was
Here are two possible ways that I’d match up the part of North America cut by the 45th parallel with “Fa Taiv Ci Biuc Siur” etcetera:
Longer version of ten syllables.
Pa Ni Nu Na Ci
Niufc Tu Ta Ti Tu
(Note: Niufc is pronounced as one syllable, as if it were a foreign word e.g. a place name, with a final -fk consonant cluster).
Ten syllables meaning:
Pacific Ocean, U*n*ited States, U*n*ited States, U*n*ited States, Canada, U*n*ited States (and Bay of *F*undy), Canada, A*t*lantic Ocean, A*t*lantic Ocean, A*t*lantic Ocean, A*t*lantic Ocean.
with the following information about the longitudes encoded in the vowels and diphthongs:
120 W, 105 W, 90W, 75 W, 75 W < longitude <60 W, 75 W< longitude <60 W, 60 W, 45 W, 30 W, 15 W respectively.
Aside: Optionally substituting names of subdivisions of the US and Canada and the Atlantic Ocean.
“Pa Ni Nu Na Ci Niufc Tu Ta Ti Tu” is okay, especially for a beginner or someone not interested in the subdivisions of the United States, Canada, and the Atlantic Ocean cut by the 45th parallel.
But if one is interested in those things, or the information seems too obvious, then it could be transformed into:
Pa Ri Wum Wa Ni Niufc Tu Ta Ti Tu
since Ni (the Ni point, i.e. the intersection of the 120th meridian (west) with the 45th parallel (north), is in Oregon, it can be renamed Ri.
Likewise, Nu can be renamed Wum, because the intersection of the 105th meridian with the 45th parallel lies on the border shared by Montana and Wyoming.
Na can be renamed Wa, because the intersection of the 90th meridian with the 45th parallel lies in Wisconsin.
Ci can be renamed Ni, because the intersection of the 75th meridian with the 45th parallel lies in Ontario.
Niufc probably had better stay the same.
Pa could be renamed by me if Wikipedia would say what the name for that part of the Pacific Ocean that contains the intersection of the 45th parallel north with the 135th meridian west.
Tu Ta Ti Tu could be renamed according to the names of the subdivisions of the Atlantic Ocean, or its ocean floor, but I don’t know where to find such information. The Wikipedia article called “45th meridian west” has a table that unfortunately omits these details.
But for now let’s not bother with that.
End of aside.
The full, consistent, 35 syllable mnemonic for the entire 45th parallel.
So now we have a fairly nice five syllable mnemonic for the Atlantic Ocean crossing by the 45th parallel, and a 35 syllable mnemonic for the entire 45th parallel that divides fairly neatly into seven lines of five syllables each:
Fa Taiv Ci Biuc Siur
Bu Cuab Ra Caikz Ki
Ku Ca Mi Cu Ra
Jai Hai Kai Tai Pi
Pu Pa Pi Pu Pa
Ni Nu Na Ci Niufc
Tu Ta Ti Tu Bua.
The meaning of the last three lines can be worked out by looking at the Wikipedia article for the 45th parallel north, but I’ll save the reader the trouble and say what they mean here.
Pu Pa Pi Pu Pa means that going along the 45th parallel, you find that the intersections with the following meridians are in the Pacific Ocean: 165th east, 180th, 165th west, 150th west, 135th west.
Ni Nu Na Ci Niufc means that going along the 45th parallel, you find that the 120th meridian west intersects in the United States, as does the 105th west, and the 90th west. Then you find that the 75th west intersects in Canada, and the the east of that intersection and to the west of the one with the 60th west the 45th parallel lies on the United States, the Bay Fundy, and Canada.
Tu Ta Ti Tu Bua means that going along the 45th parallel, you find that the intersection with the following meridians are in the Atlantic Ocean: 60th west, 45th west, 30th west, and 15th west. Between the 15th meridian west and (at about 2 degrees west) the coast of France lies the Bay Biscay.
In other (clearer) words, for the 45th parallel north:
Tu: 60 degrees west, Atlantic Ocean
Ta: 45 degrees west, Atlantic Ocean
Ti: 30 degrees west, Atlantic Ocean
Tu: 15 degrees west, Atlantic Ocean
Bua: between (noninclusive) 15 degrees west and the coast of France, Bay of Biscay
