°

Here is a mnemonic phrase indicating which way to turn screw-threaded objects to operate them properly as desired, sent in by Barbara D. Martin (9/00) - although Barbara tells us that the credit for the idea should not go to her but to other teacher friends!

To turn on sprinklers, open jars, turn screws etc:

" Lefty, loosey - Righty, tighty "

"Left" or anti-clockwise (ie. the "top" of the cylindrical circle facing you being made to move left) will always "unscrew" an object, loosen a screw or undo a screw connection between two surfaces, while "right" (or clockwise) will always do the opposite and tighten or close a connection.

Incidentally, a screw may seem a small insignificant object, but it is in fact a machine - one of the main types of machine used in universal mechanics.