Erase your study fears; (wash behind your ears)

Chuck Haga,  Star Tribune

March 11, 2005 SHOWER0311

Shower: 1.) To clean oneself by standing beneath falling or shooting water. 2.) To prepare for exams by memorizing vocabulary words, math concepts or rules of grammar while standing beneath a water spray.

Inspired by a suggestion from an ideographic Twin Cities girl -- that a shower cap could be a time-efficient thinking cap -- a New York entrepreneur is offering study-aid shower curtains designed especially for teenagers cramming for standardized tests, such as this weekend's SATs.

The 72-inch by 72-inch polyester vocabulary curtain contains 100 of the most common SAT words with definitions. It sells for $20.

Alexandra Yang, 14, of Prior Lake, came up with the idea and is a partner in the Intuitive Learning Co. established by Kevin Tung, a New Yorker who is a family friend.

The vocabulary curtain is named for her. It and other products are shown on the company website, www.tilcoweb.com.

"The idea came to me while I was using a shampoo bottle that had some Chinese characters on it," Yang said Thursday. She can speak Chinese, she said, but not read the language.

"As I looked at the characters over and over and tried to learn them, I thought it would be a good idea to put words for the SATs on the shower curtain," she said.

The curtain is reversible. Pore over some words while you shower, or from the sink as you brush your teeth.

"My family thinks it is really important that I get into a good college, so a good SAT score is important," Alex said. "They had bought me these big, thick SAT books, and I don't like to look at them."

Tung said the company also produces educational shower curtains displaying English grammar rules, math concepts and other learning aids. The curtains are to be featured this morning, along with other study aids, in a segment on prepping for the SATs on NBC TV's Today Show.

The company, which began selling its "learning by daily observation" products in January in New York and on eBay, also plans to put math and verbal learning aids on other household items, such as linens, bath mats, cereal bowls and place mats. The shower curtain also is available on amazon.com.

One caveat about studying in the shower: It's tough to take notes, even with a sharpened No. 2 pencil.