terminal reset and why enter doesn't return

occasionally, if for some reason, my ssh session to a remote machine, probably running screen, doesn't terminate cleanly, and I have to return-~. to kill it, my Mac OSX terminal gets "screwed up" -- the number of rows gets reduced, the characters don't all echo, etc.. Usually, running the reset command will fix things, but sometimes it doesn't help. Of course I can't find the reference now, but some site suggested entering ^jreset^j (ctrl-j reset ctrl-j) repeatedly till it works. Incredulous, I tried it, and indeed it does work!