# Anyone here who was not taught month-length-by-knuckles as a child? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 29, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138 "2009-03-29T00:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/1 "2009-03-29T00:05:27Z")
Out of idle interest: Does anyone here (who grew up in a country using the Gregorian calendar) not recollect having been taught the two-clenched-fists method of determining which months are 31 days long and which ones are not? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/2 "2009-03-29T00:10:31Z")
To this day, I still don’t remember the month lengths. I was never taught it. I only remember February with the 28 (or 29) days. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/3 "2009-03-29T00:13:39Z")
I’ve never heard of it. I use thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/4 "2009-03-29T00:13:55Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > Out of idle interest: Does anyone here (who grew up in a country using the Gregorian calendar) not recollect having been taught the two-clenched-fists method of determining which months are 31 days long and which ones are not? Never heard of it until just now. What is it? I learned: 30 days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 Except February which has 28 or sometimes 29. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/5 "2009-03-29T00:14:57Z")
Never heard of it. I learned: “Thirty days hath November, April, June, and September; All the rest have thirty one, [and then some long mess of instructions that can’t be made to rhyme or sound like they fit]”. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/6 "2009-03-29T00:17:30Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Never heard of it until just now. What is it? … [This method](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Month_-_Knuckles_(en).svg), using the knuckles and the valleys between them of your two clenched fists side by side. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/7 "2009-03-29T00:24:02Z")
I wasn’t really taught either the knuckles or the rhyme, though I heard the rhyme. I first saw the knuckle method when I was in middle school, I think. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/8 "2009-03-29T00:28:55Z")
I was taught by the rhyme. My college roommate showed me the knuckles method, I was impressed. This is the same roommate who taught me that your left hand makes an L for left - a good reminder for people who mix up left and right. Gosh, my parents sure got their tuition money’s worth, eh? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/9 "2009-03-29T00:33:54Z")
I only learned the rhyme. My 8yo knows the rhyme and managed to figure out the knuckle thing on her own, which has always kind of eluded me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/10 "2009-03-29T00:38:19Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Never heard of it. I learned: > > “Thirty days hath November, > April, June, and September; > All the rest have thirty one, > [and then some long mess of instructions that can’t be made to rhyme or sound like they fit]”. Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have Thirty One, Except for February, all alone. Which has 28 days clear, except for every Leap Year. Or something like that. I’ve never had the knuckle thing. I saw someone use that a few years ago for the first time, and was fascinated. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/11 "2009-03-29T00:50:19Z")
I wasn’t taught the knuckle method, but I ran across it in a book when I was a kid. For those who use the rhyme, does it really help? The whole point of a mnemonic is to replace something complicated and arbitrary with something short and unambiguous. But the rhyme is long, and four of the months rhyme, so you still have to remember which ones are right. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/12 "2009-03-29T00:54:04Z")
Neva hoid of it. I was taught using the rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/13 "2009-03-29T00:54:09Z")
I’ve never heard of the knuckle method - we learnt the rhyme. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > For those who use the rhyme, does it really help? The whole point of a mnemonic is to replace something complicated and arbitrary with something short and unambiguous. But the rhyme is long, and four of the months rhyme, so you still have to remember which ones are right. Instead of remembering 12 random pieces of information, the rhyme mentions only 5 months … it has rhythym and rhymes! ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/14 "2009-03-29T00:55:24Z")
I was taught the knuckle method. I still use it at work sometimes. A slight difference in my case was that we used only one fist, going forward and backward. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/15 "2009-03-29T00:56:17Z")
I learned the knuckle thing as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/16 "2009-03-29T01:10:27Z")
Most Americans will use the rhyme. Europeans seem to use the knuckle thing. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/17 "2009-03-29T01:21:13Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Instead of remembering 12 random pieces of information, the rhyme mentions only 5 months … it has rhythym and rhymes! Yeah, but you could start with “Thirty days has December, August, May, and September…” and the rhyme and rhythm haven’t changed. It seems like you’re learning one arbitrary thing as an aid to remembering another arbitrary thing. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/18 "2009-03-29T01:23:49Z")
I was taught the rhyme but read about the knuckle method and showed my friends in primary school. Then I discovered the calendar… ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/19 "2009-03-29T01:24:40Z")
I never heard the rhyme or the knuckle system… I just memorized the month lengths. As there are only 12 of them, it is not all that difficult. Just like remembering how may feet in a mile, inches in a foot or, umm… furlongs in a fortnight. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138/20 "2009-03-29T01:35:33Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Thirty days hath September, > April, June, and November. > All the rest have Thirty One, > Except for February, all alone. > Which has 28 days clear, > except for every Leap Year. The problem is, there are so many months that rhyme and/or have the right syllable count that you an make almost anything work: Thirty days, has December, May, July, and September… Thus, even though I remember the meter of the rhyme, I never remember which months go in it, unless I determine the proper months by another method and backfit. It’s like the old joke of needing to know how to spell a word in order to look up how to spell it. I learned the knuckle method originally, I think. That has the advantage, also, of teaching you the even simpler rule: The 31-day months alternate,except for a “missed” short month between July and August. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-here-who-was-not-taught-month-length-by-knuckles-as-a-child/491138.md?page=2)