Things I've remembered for more than 16 years

By a stroke of poor design, our office shares its doorbell mechanism with our neighbors. That is, when someone rings either one of our bells, both sides hear it. There is a solid wall separating the offices, so it seems odd (with room for a good explanation) that this feature exists. It seems odder (with far less room for a good explanation) that it cannot be disabled to allow notifications to be funneled only to the appropriate side of the solid wall.

In order to prevent both offices from getting the door with each ring, we agreed to activate two sets of chimes. The standard ding-dong notes that our neighbors have a guest; we head to the door when we hear the first four bars of a classic American nursery rhyme.

A quick poll of my co-workers reveals that none of them have heard these songs before. I wonder what it’s like to listen to a stunning masterpiece like “Row, row, row your boat” and not even know you are witness to the pinnacle of genius. I pity them.

For the culturally refined, here is a list of my doorbell songs (and make good use of the links to relive your childhood!)

Do You Know the Muffin Man?
Oh My Darling, Clementine
BINGO
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Hush Little Baby
Whistle, Whistle, Little Bird
Home on the Range
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Did You Ever See a Lassie
Farmer in the Dell
London Bridge
There’s one more, but I haven’t figured it out yet. And I only get to hear it once every twelve times someone comes to our door, so it may take some time.

I’ve also stumbled upon catchy American kids’ tunes when holding on the phone. It makes me wonder if elevator music and door chimes in the US are actually Chinese nursery rhymes.

Perhaps the constant playing (and mental replaying) of these songs accounts for the unshakeable sensation that it should be naptime soon, or at least recess.