Tuesday, September 18, 2012

If You're On Your Last Nerve, Where Did The Rest Go?

Some events over the past few days have brought the phrase "on my last nerve" to mind, and I wondered where the phrase originated. It's a little strange, isn't it? "You're getting on my last nerve." "You're working on my last nerve." There are a few other variations of the phrase.

I suppose if it's your last nerve and it's exposed, then if somebody's on it, that would be excruciatingly painful. I googled and couldn't find where the phrase started. I looked through a book of clichés and couldn't find it there either. It can't be that new, can it? If anybody knows the origin of the phrase, please share.

Anyhow, that reminded me of the Room of Interesting Medical Things at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. I'm actually not sure what the display was called, but I remember one item there. It was the entire human nervous system, carefully dissected out over a lengthy period of time. I tried to find a picture of it online because I never thought to take a photo myself. I didn't find that particular one, but I did find the nervous system of Harriet Cole. Pretty weird, huh?

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