Fun Phonetic Alphabet quiz.

[k0ua]

I used to work as both an EMT and an ambulance dispatcher. One overnight shift, I was working with another guy and we sort of were dozing when a call came through and the road name wasn't something easy like Main St. My colleague, bless his heart, started dispatching the crew and when he went to spell out the street name, his brain was foggy and he couldn't remember Romeo for R. So here he is, spelling out the street and he broadcasts "R as in...Rectum" since we're in the medical field and that was the 1st thing to pop in there. I about fell out of my chair, the shift supervisor was like "Please tell me you didn't just..." and then the crew, out on the road and fully awake diligently repeats that spelling right back. Hysterical.

Speaking of funny things over the radio: I was dispatching at the Sheriffs office one cold winters evening and was also monitoring the city police frequency. I heard various city police cars call back to dispatch and ask for a load of sand to be spread at especially slippery intersections after a storm event to cover the ice.

For some reason one of the city cars instead of asking for a load of sand, he asked for a load of ice at an intersection. Their dispatcher never missed a beat and asked back "do you want crushed or block?" This particular dispatcher was known to have a very dry sense of humor.

There was a lot of double clicking of microphones at that little joke.

 

[k0ua]

30, I thought I was better but some of the earlier ones got me.

On old war movies, sometimes they get it period correct, and sometimes they don't.

 

[drssg]

I did poorly - only got 22 right. I have no military background, so it was mostly guessing and what I’ve picked up from war movies.

I was using this approach on the phone once while providing customer support. When I got to X, the only thing that came to mind was X-rated. She countered that x-ray was a better word. Oops!

 

[k0ua]

For those that want to know more:

NATO phonetic alphabet - Wikipedia

 

[MossRoad]

35 out of 35 for me, but communications has always been "my thing"

How Well Do You Know the Military Alphabet? | HowStuffWorks

See, the very first question lists F, and we know the answer has 7 letters, but the blank space in the question has 6 spaces. They should have put solid lines. Anywho, I'm 1 for 1. Will continue. :laughing:

 

[bunyip]

I often get asked to spell my name as it is a little different and some people just cannot grasp it, I can get a little exasperated and spell it phonetically for them Insolent, Arrogant, Irritating, Nasty....IAIN.
They never ask a second time.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Too bad they had to use people and place names in the alphabet. You are providing a place and use a place to spell in phonetically. Same with a person's name. I mean Jim is Juliet, India, Mike. Confusing for people not well aquainted with the alphabet.

E-mails are so hard to convey. Mine is @bmts.com. I swear, there has not been a single person that has understood that phonetically. And saying stands for: Bruce Municipal Telephone System is no better. Maybe the problem is, I never say "as in".

Wish I knew how to activate spell check on this new computer.

I'm surprised that wired phones never had simple displays and "here is" like on Telex, type programmable buttons. If someone wants your address, hit a button and it sends out the address at some low baud rate and appears on their screen. Especially usefull for getting those hard to convey names right.

 

[aczlan]

33/35 for me, missed 2 historical questions.

Aaron Z

 

[Wagtail]

I instruct at our local Navy (Sea) Cadets and one of the subjects is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. I could simply teach it straight as A = Alpha, B = Bravo, etc... but that doesn't get the point across, memory-wise, so I try to relate the letters to something.

I'm getting old as they have no inkling of what a Sierra is, who Charlie Chaplin was or Delta. There is an Aussie singer named Delta Goodrem, so I have them remember that. Zulu confuses them even after explaining that they're an African tribe/nation.

Often, they'll come up with their own memory-cues.

 

[k0ua]

Zulu confuses them even after explaining that they're an African tribe/nation.

I bet those fellas at Rorke's Drift will remember the Zulu's. :shocked: