science

Tillie (elephant)

Tillie (elephant) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tillie (elephant) rather than just read about it. In short: Tillie (circa 1870 – 1932) was a female Asian elephant that was the mascot of the John Robinson Circus. Tillie was acquired by John Robinson, owner of the circus, in 1872.

Key takeaways

Tillie (elephant) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tillie (elephant) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tillie (elephant) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tillie (circa 1870 – 1932) was a female Asian elephant that was the mascot of the John Robinson Circus. Tillie was acquired by John Robinson, owner of the circus, in 1872. She was the leader of the elephant pack. Tillie was one of four elephants that the Robinsons kept when they sold the Robinson Circus in 1912. Tillie's image is shown on the cover Phillip J. Nuxhall's book Stories from the Grove, and she can be seen in a poster on page 76 of Dann Woellert's book Cincinnati's Northside Neighborhood. When the circus performed in the neighborhood of Northside, Cincinnati (formerly Cumminsville, Ohio), Tillie led the procession. The T-shaped window on the old Robinson property in Terrace Park is for Tillie.

Death A full page obituary was published in The Cincinnati Enquirer when Tillie died in 1932. An audience of two thousand commemorated her life in Terrace Park at her home on Elm Avenue in Terrace Park, Ohio as planes dropped carnations and the remaining three elephants stood by as a cannon was fired. Exactly where Tilles is buried is uncertain. Rumors that she was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery have not been substantiated. Although there is a tombstone for Tillie on the Robinson's old property in Terrace Park, Lynn Nelson, who was a 30-year resident of Terrace Park, insists Tille is not buried under the tombstone, but is instead buried in a dry well on the same property. Nuxhall and Nelson both believe her legs were cut off and made into umbrella stands.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tillie (elephant)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tillie (elephant) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tillie (elephant) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tillie (elephant) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tillie (elephant)

In research: Tillie (elephant) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tillie (elephant) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tillie (elephant) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1932 animal deaths, Circus elephants, Individual Asian elephants, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tillie (elephant) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tillie (elephant) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tillie (elephant) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tillie (elephant) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tillie (elephant) in simple terms?

Tillie (circa 1870 – 1932) was a female Asian elephant that was the mascot of the John Robinson Circus. Tillie was acquired by John Robinson, owner of the circus, in 1872.

Why does Tillie (elephant) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tillie (elephant)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tillie (elephant).