# Most Useless Thing Memorized? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244 "2003-11-25T20:06:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/161 "2003-12-03T06:52:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gonzoron \* > bone to bone, no? (still “like”, though) :o Maybe I was a bit premature posting that in a memorization thread. ---
**Author:** ![DarkPrince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@DarkPrince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkPrince)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/162 "2003-12-03T09:12:49Z")
My 6th grade lock combination: 19-01-35 w00t! The Doom/Doom 2 codes as printed above: IDDQD(God mode, made your eyes glow) IDSPISPOPD(No clip mode, replaced by IDCLIP in Doom 2) IDKFA(All weapons, keys, and ammo. Could do IDFA if you didn’t want the keys too.) IDBEHOLD(Gave random items. A for allmap, B for berserk, L for light amplify, I invisibility, etc…) In more video game geekiness, if you describe the room/area you’re in in Half-Life I can usually tell where you are, where the enemies are in relation to you, if there are any items, or if there’s a scripted event. I somehow also managed to memorize a poem from the original Diablo manual. /Goes to dig out his Doom 2 CD :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/163 "2003-12-03T11:24:41Z")
useless thing memorised for the phone - 9878999888999987899988987 > [@](#): > > Originally posted by \*\*simply\_cats \*\* > … _chuckles_ > Well, after reading this thread I must say I feel a bit dismayed that I was taught: > Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November > All the rest have 31, except for February; which stands alone… > not nearly as catchy as the one mentioned earlier. … i wasn’t even taught that! i was shown how to do it by looking at my knuckles and that’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/164 "2003-12-03T12:04:00Z")
I worked at a Target in Tx around Xmas 1999. When the Pokemon games were all popular and whatnot. The cost of a Game Boy color (including tax) then and there? $76.78 Menya zevout VootKoo (Something about Vodka, in Russian. And I don’t drink.) “I have large magic testicles.” in German. Antidiluviantroglydite (sp?). Then I know all kinds of relatively pointless snake facts. I need to know them, but the general public doesn’t. Such as: Colubrids have only one functioning lung. (ratsnakes, cornsnakes, milksnakes, etc). You can’t devonomize a snake by taking out their fangs, because they grow back. Snakes have 3 jaws. (two on top, one on bottom). There’s one type of snake that is all-female. The way Boomslang venom works. Gentics, hehe. I can name most of the Ball Python Morphs off the top of my head, and how much they cost. What company first bred Blood Pythons succusfully in captivity. Some of the other things I know I’m kind of foggy on, and wouldn’t post them as fact. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/165 "2003-12-03T18:54:23Z")
Ooh, I have a lot of these. I can sing all the lyrics to “The Elements” by Tom Lehrer, as well as “Nations of the World”, from Animaniacs. I can name just about every X-Files episode in about ten seconds. I can also name every victim of Jack the Ripper, and every wife of Henry VIII. Here’s one that might go over the heads of a few people: There was a Star Wars parody short film many years ago, called “Hardware Wars” (irons for ships, how could it not be funny?). The big climactic final battle was preceded with the pilots’ briefing that contained phrases such as “antigyroscopic pre-interface thrust chamber” and “automatic flip-flop override device”. I can recite that whole thing for no reason I can discern. ---
**Author:** ![Adridne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ccd318/32.png) [@Adridne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adridne)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/166 "2003-12-03T19:54:20Z")
The entirety of _Tam Lin_, version Child 39a. I can name any Buffy episode from seasons 1-6 from watching 15 seconds of any scene. Strange bits and pieces of Russian (learned in third grade), German (3 years in high school), and Yiddish (one year in college). The collective noun for turtles is “bushel”. ---
**Author:** ![PbZep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58f4c7/32.png) [@PbZep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PbZep)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/167 "2003-12-03T21:01:21Z")
I know Jenny’s old number but can’t remember my new one. Everyone over 30 sing along, 867-5309 ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/168 "2003-12-03T21:52:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by VladAntlerkov \* > \*\*The first eleven lines of the Aeneid. In Latin. With the proper scansion (elisions and everything). Not the English meaning of it, though. Go figure. > > I would say the Attic Greek alphabet, except I’m taking Greek right now. 🙂 > > Also: The four official languages of Singapore are Chinese, English, Malay, and Tamil, and that [Mandarin is not a dialect of Chinese](http://www.nhptv.org/product/gsc/gsc.htm). (Still mad that the judges botched that last part. :D) \*\* And if you want to nitpick… the Malay language is Bhasa not Malay. ---
**Author:** ![SpectBrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@SpectBrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpectBrain)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/169 "2003-12-03T21:58:07Z")
E FP TOC LPED PECFD ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/170 "2003-12-03T22:06:09Z")
The jersey number of every player who played regularily for the Senators from 1996 to now. I can name most of those players, too, but some you’ll have to remind me of their names, and then I can give the number. ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/171 "2003-12-04T03:07:19Z")
Every line spoken by the character Doug Masters in the movie Iron Eagle. ---
**Author:** ![No1spoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/77aa72/32.png) [@No1spoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No1spoet)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/172 "2008-07-23T20:22:24Z")
I can recite, word for word, and with considerable enthusiasm, Dr. Suess’ “The Lorax” ---
**Author:** ![GillianBoardman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GillianBoardman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GillianBoardman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/173 "2008-07-23T20:34:23Z")
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, on a sesame seed bun. At one time i knew it backwards too. And I don’t now, and never did eat them. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/174 "2008-07-23T20:51:03Z")
The chemicals **Methylchloroisothiazolinone** and **Methylisothiazolinone** (I memorized their spelling). Go ahead and look at your shampoo bottle - I bet they’re there. Along with **Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and/or Ammonium Laureth Sulfate**. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/175 "2008-07-23T20:54:06Z")
[QUOTE=GillianBoardman] Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, on a sesame seed bun. [/QUOTE] Not in that order, though, right? I mean, who puts lettuce between a burger and its cheese? That would be crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/176 "2008-07-23T21:02:06Z")
[QUOTE=cowgirl] The first eighteen lines (I think) of _Caunterbury Tales_ in Olde English. [/QUOTE] _Whan that Aprille with his shoures soute The droghte of March hath perc’d to the rote and bathed every veyne in swich licour of which vertu engendr’d is the flour_ That was from memory. The spelling is probably off… don’t keep up with Middle English like I ought to, especially not during training camps. I’ve been able to recite _Jabberwocky_ from memory since I was about 7 or so. I doubt I’m alone in this. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/177 "2008-07-23T21:03:14Z")
[QUOTE=No1spoet] I can recite, word for word, and with considerable enthusiasm, Dr. Suess’ “The Lorax” [/QUOTE] When a fox is in the bottle where the tweedle beetles battle with their paddles on a puddle on a noodle eating poodle… wait, wrong Dr Suess. But that’s my useless memorization! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/178 "2008-07-23T21:11:26Z")
In the novel The Dark Rivers Of The Heart by Dean Koontz, some of the chapters are started with a bit of poetry taken from an imaginary book. This is one bit I memorised; **All of us are travellers lost, our tickets arranged at a cost, unknown, and beyond our means, this odd itinerary of scenes. Enigmatic, strange, surreal, it leaves us unsure how to feel. No post-mortem journey is rife, with more mystery than life.** _Now what use can I possibly have with that?_ ---
**Author:** ![Sublata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Sublata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublata)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/179 "2008-07-23T21:17:54Z")
The [Declaration of Principles of Spiritualism](http://www.crumbaughchurch.org/spirit2.htm), inadvertently memorized by me while I was helping my then-boyfriend study for his exams to become a certified medium. In my own defense, these days I can’t recite any more than the first three. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244/180 "2008-07-23T21:23:26Z")
Zombie. Closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-useless-thing-memorized/215244.md?page=8)