# Silly Mnemonics! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335 "2011-01-12T13:18:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/61 "2011-01-14T15:04:55Z")
When looking things up in Japanese, to this day I still have to run " **K** ana **S** ystem: **T** ake **N** ote **H** ow **M** uch **Y** ou **R** ead and **W** rite to remember the order. In high school German, our teacher taught us Weuf Dog (wieder um entlang fur durch ohne gegen) to remember the accusative prepositions. For the dative: aus-ausser-bei! mitt-nach-zeit! von-zu-gegenuber! Aaand then there’s the obnoxious “Fifty Nifty” song that allows me, some 30-odd years on, to still remember the US states in alphabetical order. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/62 "2011-01-14T21:11:53Z")
That’s Chief Soh Cah Toa to you people. Honestly. From chemistry, I remember that LEO goes GER. Lose electron = oxidation, gain electron = reduction. There’s something similar for physics that (I think) involves ICE, but I can’t remember it anymore. Apparently it wasn’t very effective. My husband took a course to be in the ski patrol back in college, and to remember which bone of the lower leg is located to the front of the body, the instructor told them “Tits go in front.” He didn’t have a better way to remember that it’s the tibia that’s in front, but he guaranteed them they’d never forget it after. And he hasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Hazel_Ice)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/63 "2011-01-15T02:09:59Z")
In high school, I learned the quadratic formula to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Now, if I ever need to use it, guess what tune I have to hum? For Latin: P-PAIN words (pirata, poeta, agricola, incola, nauta) for first declension nouns that take masculine (-us) adjectives. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/64 "2011-01-15T02:34:20Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Circle of fifth, going through sharps - **F** ather **C** harles **G** oes **D** own **A** nd **E** nds **B** attle. > > Circle of fifths, going through flats - **B** attle **E** nds **A** nd **D** own **G** oes **C** harles’ **F** ather. Great, 'cause they work forward _and_ backward. I learned: Sharps: **F** at **C** harlie **G** ets **D** onuts **A** fter **E** at_in’_ **B** reakfast Flats: **B** reakfast **E** at_en_ **A** fter **D** onuts **G** ets **C** harlie **F** at ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/65 "2011-01-15T03:18:38Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYandZ. That’s the mnemonic I use for memorizing the alphabet. I think Big Bird uses that one, too. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/66 "2011-01-16T02:19:57Z")
> [@Ambihelical\_Hexnut](#): > > For the first few digits of pi, I was taught “How I wish I could calculate pi”. Can I have a large container of coffee. How I like a drink, alcoholic of course, after all these chapters involving Quantum Mechanics. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/67 "2011-01-16T02:42:43Z")
All Altruists Gladly Make Gum in Gallon Tanks is the mnemonic for the hexoses in binary order if you look at the Fisher projection. It always annoyed me, because I’ve known it for twenty years but had to look it up every time I wanted to tell someone else about it. It’s not a very memorable mnemonic to me. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/68 "2011-01-16T07:15:47Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYandZ. That’s the mnemonic I use for memorizing the alphabet. For me, it’s more like: A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I, J, K, LMNOP. . . . Those last few always get run together whenever I have to look things up in an actual, alphabetically arranged book. ---
**Author:** ![mufatango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mufatango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mufatango)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/69 "2011-01-17T16:46:14Z")
To remember the Papez circuit in neuroscience, I pictured Napoleon (why??? no idea) and remembered: He Fought Many Men And Ate Caviar In Paris Hippocampus, Fimbria-fornix, Mamillary bodies, Mamillothalamic tract, Anterior Thalamic gyrus, Anterior cingulate gyrus, Cingulum, Isthmus, Parahippocampal gyrus. Lots of medical school (especially anatomy) relies on mnemonics - I bet you could ask almost any doctor to complete the sentence, “As Sally lay flat…” and get the remainder of the old mnemonic - For the branches of the external carotid artery: As Sally Lay Flat, Oscar’s Penis Slipped Medially Ascending Pharyngeal, Superior Thyroid, Lingual, Facial, Occipital, Posterior auricular, Superior Temporal, Maxillary Cranial nerve function? Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother Says Big Boobs Matter More (Sensory, Motor, Both) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/70 "2011-01-17T17:09:02Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > Here’s one that I just learned recently in my 4th decade: > > To remember which water glass or bread plate is yours, point your index fingers up and make a ring with the remaining fingers & your thumb on each hand. Your left hand will form a lower-case “b,” indicating that your **b** read plate is on \*that \*side, your left. Your right hand will form a lower-case “d,” telling you that your **d** rink glasses are on \*that \*side. > > I will never again commandeer my dining partner’s bread plate or water glass. > > Thanks, Ty! Can’t you simply alphabetize them, left-to-right (B, then D)? I may look a little less silly at the dinner table. 😃 mmm ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/71 "2011-01-17T19:41:50Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > There’s something similar for physics that (I think) involves ICE, but I can’t remember it anymore. Apparently it wasn’t very effective. Aha! I remembered! It’s “ELI the ICEman” for physics: voltage leading current v. current leading voltage in different circuits. (I did have to look up the application - I vaguely remembered “something leading current” but couldn’t come up with what. I’m no great shakes at circuits.) ---
**Author:** ![Jaguars](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaguars/32/5879_2.png) [@Jaguars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaguars)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/72 "2011-01-17T20:21:16Z")
Elephants And Dogs Grow Big Ears for guitar strings. SEX - Statement , Explanation, eXample - Structure of an essay paragraph Hehe Libeebkinoffnee - The First 20 elements of the periodic table (H He Li Be B C N O F Ne) My dad, a chemistry teacher, had the first 100 or so memorised - It sounded like he was making a speech in indonesian or something! ---
**Author:** ![A\_person\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@A\_person\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_person_1)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/73 "2015-09-10T01:01:18Z")
A funny mnemonic that is fairly new is “Oh Boy A Feral Giraffe Killed My Little Transparent Yeti”. This mnemonic refers to the classification of stars in astronomy. it stands for OBAFGKMLTY. Yeah that’s a lot of random letters that you need to remember in exact order. Each letter stands for a certain classification O being for the hottest and brightest stars and Y being for the dimmer stars. This is a newer mnemonic because the letters LTY were just added less than 5 years ago for stars we call brown dwarfs. These are stars that are like really big planets but at the same time really small stars and they are super dim. In some cases you could be right over one and you wouldn’t see it. I saw the mnemonic in a crash course I was watching on YouTube and I haven’t seen it anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/74 "2015-09-10T01:36:19Z")
DePP NuDGe – Dead car’s Positive to Positive; Negative to Dead car’s Ground ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/75 "2015-09-10T04:58:51Z")
To know the correct (ascending) order of the general officer ranks: _Be My Little General_. That’s for Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General. Yes, that’s how the Drill Sergeant taught it to my platoon in BCT. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/76 "2015-09-11T12:10:22Z")
King Philip could often fuck girls senseless. (Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/77 "2015-09-11T12:12:43Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > King Philip could often fuck girls senseless. (Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species) For me it was always King Peter could only fuck golden sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/78 "2015-09-11T12:22:25Z")
‘My Friend Jimmy Is an Opportunistic Sexual Predator’. (I use that one to remember why I don’t trust my friend Jimmy.) ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335/79 "2015-09-11T15:11:02Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Never Eat Soggy Waffles > Lefty Loosey, Rightey Tightey > and > Your left hand making the shape of an L are three mnemonic devices that get used so often I’ve always been glad I never needed any of them. I never gave it much thought until I was a passenger in a car, in college and told the driver to make a right turn. I saw her very quickly ungrip the wheel so both of her hands were flat…“Rachel, did you just look at your hands to see which one made an L?” She did. I was taught that the right hand is the one with the thumb on the left. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-mnemonics/567335.md?page=3)