# Mnemonic sentences: examples from different professions and studies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 3, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504 "2012-09-03T01:46:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/21 "2012-09-03T13:21:29Z")
I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/22 "2012-09-03T13:53:47Z")
> [@Mornac](#): > > **A** **r** at\*\* i **n** t\*\*he **h** ouse **m** ay **e** at **t** he **i** ce **c** ream: A device for spelling _arithmetic_ in an era where schoolchildren no longer use the word. In a similar vein: “George Eckert’s old grandfather rode a pig home yesterday” - geography. ---
**Author:** ![maisoui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@maisoui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maisoui)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/23 "2012-09-03T13:56:14Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > A common one is “every good boy deserves favor/fudge”, for the notes represented by the lines (bottom to top) on a treble clef staff. > > The Moody Blues named one of their albums this. Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle - For order of sharps for key signature. - conversely - Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father - For order of flats. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/24 "2012-09-03T14:04:04Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. It is often easier to remember a pictorial sequence than arbitrary words. Take for example, the sentence, “My very educated mother just made us nine pies”, which is used for remembering the planets from the sun outward. A person might create the mental image of a lady wearing a mortarboard pulling a tray containing 9 pies out of the oven. Looking out the window beyond her, you might see the sun and the planets lined up. An absurd picture like that, coupled with the phrase, can help to make it stick in your mind. Back in the 1970s, there were two memory experts (Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas) who had a memory system based on pictures. Jerry Lucas came out with a flashcard system that helped a person memorize Bible verses. I had the first set of Bible verses, and I also had the New Testament package, but that one got ruined in a flood before I could use it. Although I haven’t reviewed the verses I memorized way back in 1979, I can still see many of the flashcard pictures in my mind if I close my eyes and think about them. And when I see the pictures, I can still quote the verses. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/25 "2012-09-03T14:57:07Z")
Here is a rather obscure one not really in use anymore; Boys on girls bring sex. (brown orange green blue slate) That’s the “ring” order of the color code punched down on a 1A2 telephone panel (25 pair cable.) I don’t recall the one for “tip.” (white red black yellow violet) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/26 "2012-09-03T17:02:49Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Those are awesome! What’s PAPI? (IANAP). Found it. It’s the red and white lights next to the runway which help the pilot stay on the right approach path for landing (not too high, not too low). ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/27 "2012-09-03T17:09:12Z")
Obligatory xkcd link: [xkcd: Mnemonics](http://xkcd.com/992/) We did the sohcahtoa, King Philip came over for group sex (kingdom phylum etc), IPMAT (interphase prophase metaphase anaphase telephass), every good boy does fine /FACE (music notation) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/28 "2012-09-03T17:10:55Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Guitar strings (low to high): Every acid dealer gets busted eventually. > > There are a bunch of other ones (Eddie at dynamite - good bye Eddie, elephants and donkeys grow big ears), but that first one is the one that sticks with me. Our guitar teacher had us make up our own. I still use one my classmate created: “eat apples daily, guitar becomes easy” ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/29 "2012-09-03T17:13:14Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > And of course: > Do a deer, a female deer > Re a drop of golden sun. > … > Frankly, it was easier to just remember Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. “Tea, a drink with jam and bread…” I heard it as: “Tea, a drink with Jan and Fred” Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/30 "2012-09-03T17:14:28Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. It’s the MEANING that helps you remember. Meaning is the glue that holds everything together. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/31 "2012-09-03T17:25:35Z")
In anatomy, there are a couple of mnemonics for the 12 cranial nerves: Clean version, which the TA’s put on the board: On old Olympus’ towering top, a Finn and German viewed some hops. Dirty version, which was the one everyone actually used: Oh! Oh! Oh! To touch and feel a girl’s vagina! Such heaven! Olfactory Optic Oculomotor Trochlear Trigeminal Abducens Facial Auditory Glossopharyngeal Vagus Spinal Accessory Hypoglossal Hey! It still works! I got them all right (well, I got a couple with the same initial out of order) even though I haven’t had to know them since grad school. > [@SCAdian](#): > > **King Philip came over for good soup.** > Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. > [@jackdavinci](#): > > King Philip came over for group sex (kingdom phylum etc), ) When I learned it in the 60s it was King Philip came over from Germany stoned. ---
**Author:** ![bashere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bashere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bashere)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/32 "2012-09-03T17:35:47Z")
Sailing: True Virgins make dull companions; add whiskey. Does this one count: “Red over Red/Captain is Dead (or In Bed)”? It doesn’t stand for anything; two red lights on the mast mean vessel is not under command. Or “Red, right, returning”? Keep the red harbour lights on your right when returning to your slip. Or “How much red port is left?” The lines and lights on the left (port) side of a vessel are red. I always learned order of operations as “Please excuse my dear aunt Sally”. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/33 "2012-09-03T17:46:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > When I learned it in the 60s it was King Philip came over from Germany stoned. I will add: Kings play chess on fine grain sand. Or fine golden sand. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/34 "2012-09-03T18:59:12Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > **King Philip came over for good soup.** > [@Colibri](#): > > When I learned it in the 60s it was King Philip came over from Germany stoned. > [@jackdavinci](#): > > King Philip came over for group sex “King Philip, Come Out For God’s Sake!” is the one I know. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/35 "2012-09-03T19:08:20Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. :dubious: Commander Data, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/36 "2012-09-03T19:17:53Z")
George and John and Tommy J. Two Jims, a John, and Old Hickory A. Marty, Willy, Johnny, and James. Zachary and Millard (how 'bout those names!) Frank and Jim led to Abraham’s Days; Then Andrew, Ulysses, and R.B. Hayes. James, Chester, Grover, and Ben. Now don’t forget we had Grover again. Willy Mac, Teddy, and a man named Taft then Woody, Warren, and Calvin the Daft. Herbie, Frankie, Harry and Ike; John, Lyndon, Dickie (call him Tricky if you like); Gerry, Jimmy, Ronnie and George; A turn for Bill, then another George. After that it was time for Barack; November’s coming; will he be back? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/37 "2012-09-03T19:45:02Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. The trick is that the order of words in a mnemonic have some meaningful relationship between them, even if it’s only a nonsense sentence. By linking them to set of words or terms that have no logical order, you can more easily remember the proper order of the other terms. Likewise things are more easily remembered if set to music, such as the Alphabet Song. A more elaborate method for remembering the order of things is the [Roman Room system.](http://www.academictips.org/memory/romanrom.html) ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/38 "2012-09-03T19:54:37Z")
Since Pluto was denied “planethood”: My very extroverted maid just served us naked. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/39 "2012-09-03T19:54:43Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I just learned from a current thread an acronym for order of operations in simple math (the acronym is used in America) is PEDMAS: parentheses, exponent, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction. It’s an acronym because you can say it with normal consonants and vowels in English, using the correct orthography. A mnemonic, on the other hand, is a bunch of letters–IBM–which normally is sounded out by it’s letters. Mnemonics also are often turned into a normal sounding phoneme group for ease: WSO, say, which may be vocalized “wasso” or “wisso,” whatever the local speech community uses. This is quite wrong. A mnemonic is _any_ technique you might use use to help you remember something, and is certainly not limited to the sort of sentence mnemonics you are asking about. PEDMAS most certainly _is_ a mnemonic. It is an acronym too; there is no reason it can’t be both. Sets of initials that are not pronounced as if tehy were are word, such as IBM, are called _initialisms_. I suppose IBM could be used as mnemonic, to help you remember “International Business Machines”, but I doubt whether it commonly is used that way. It just became the accepted name of the company, and, as such, is not a mnemonic. > [@An\_Arky](#): > > I just don’t understand how/why the use of mnemonics is all that helpful. You have to memorize even more words and establish the links between those and the ones you’re trying to memorize. It seems like making the effort to memorize the words you need to memorize in the first place would be more efficient. Because human memory just does not work that way. As numerous experimental studies have shown, people are very bad at remembering arbitrary seeming lists of words, especially when they have to be kept in order. It can be done, but it takes a lot of time and dull repetitive work, repeating the list over and over to yourself. People are _much_ better at remembering meaningful sentences, or, indeed, anything that forms a single meaningful unit. Often they only have to hear it once and will remember it for years. > [@BobArrgh](#): > > It is often easier to remember a pictorial sequence than arbitrary words. Take for example, the sentence, “My very educated mother just made us nine pies”, which is used for remembering the planets from the sun outward. A person might create the mental image of a lady wearing a mortarboard pulling a tray containing 9 pies out of the oven. Looking out the window beyond her, you might see the sun and the planets lined up. > > An absurd picture like that, coupled with the phrase, can help to make it stick in your mind. > > Back in the 1970s, there were two memory experts (Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas) who had a memory system based on pictures. Jerry Lucas came out with a flashcard system that helped a person memorize Bible verses. I had the first set of Bible verses, and I also had the New Testament package, but that one got ruined in a flood before I could use it. Although I haven’t reviewed the verses I memorized way back in 1979, I can still see many of the flashcard pictures in my mind if I close my eyes and think about them. And when I see the pictures, I can still quote the verses. > > YMMV. It is true that visual mental image based mnemonics can be very effective (they have been used since ancient Greek times), but I do not think there is any clear evidence that sentence mnemonics of the type being discussed in this thread depend on visual imagery (though, on some theories of memory, it may play a role). Verbal mnemonics of this sort may depend as much or more on the rhythm of the language: mnemonics that are little doggerel poems are often particularly effective, especially if they rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504/40 "2012-09-03T20:06:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A more elaborate method for remembering the order of things is the [Roman Room system.](http://www.academictips.org/memory/romanrom.html) This is actually a version of what is more standardly known as the _[method of loci](http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/ancient-imagery-mnemonics.html)_, and was invented by the _Greeks_ (specifically the poet Simonides, who lived in the 5th-6th centuries BC). It is true, however, that it was widely used by Roman orators to remember their speeches (or, at any rate, it is described and highly recommended in multiple Roman books on rhetoric), and continued to be taught and used quite widely, and often in increasingly elaborate forms, through the middle ages and Renaissance. For appropriate purposes, it works very well. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ All the good sentence mnemonics that I know have already been taken, I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mnemonic-sentences-examples-from-different-professions-and-studies/633504.md?page=3)