# Weird and Unique Mnemonics **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037 "2013-01-22T20:38:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/61 "2013-01-25T18:37:28Z")
Which bone faces forward in your lower leg? The tibia, of course. How do you remember it? “Tits go in front.” Such was the wisdom imparted to my dear spouse during emergency training for ski patrol while in college. The instructor allowed that it might be viewed as vulgar, “but you’ll never forget it.” And neither of us ever has. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/62 "2013-01-26T20:23:51Z")
Not unique to me, but local: Jesus Christ Made Seattle Under Protest It’s the streets in downtown Seattle that run perpendicular to the waterfront, starting from the South end: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine. A slightly odd mnemonic, since I don’t think Jesus had much to do with building the city, and it’s a pretty nice place - I don’t think He’d object to it. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/63 "2013-01-26T22:02:01Z")
One of my primary school teachers taught me this : LATitude = horizontal LONGitude = vertical Think of the shape of your mouth during those syllables . ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/64 "2013-01-26T23:03:50Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Stalac **T** ite and stalag **M** ite. I picture the **T** as hanging down from the cave ceiling and the **M** as standing up from the floor. Came up with this when I was a 12yo budding geologist only to find out later that the normal mnemonic is c for ceiling and g for ground. > > I’ve got more I’m sure but the OP jogged this particular memory. I remember this because “t” is higher in the alphabet than “m.” For port and starboard, I remember port and left are lower in the alphabet than starboard and right. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/65 "2013-01-27T02:48:51Z")
When learning the Japanese phonetic system, I invented the mnemonic “ **A** pples? **I** **U** sually **E** at **O** ranges!” to help me remember the order of the vowels. When we got to days of the week, I came up with “ **N** ine **G** ay **K** nights **S** ay ‘ **M** en **K** iss **D** elightfully!’” for Nichiyoobi (Sunday), Getsuyoobi (Monday), Kayoobi (Tuesday), Suiyoobi (Wednesday), Mokuyoobi (Thursday), Kinyoobi (Friday), and Doyoobi (Saturday). To avoid mixing up K **a** yoobi and K **i** nyoobi, I just had to remember that A comes before I (in both the Roman alphabet and the Japanese phonetic system, thankfully). Not mine, but I learned “ **D** o **M** en **E** ver **V** isit **B** oston?” from the book _An Incomplete Education_ as a mnemonic for the ranks of the British peerage. From highest to lowest they are Duke, Marquess/Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron. This has come in handy more often than you might expect; not that I’m palling around with British nobility, but it’s useful to know who outranks whom in 19th century British literature (the reason it was included in _An Incomplete Education_), and now that _Downton Abbey_ is so popular I’ve occasionally been asked where an Earl falls in the scheme of things. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/66 "2013-01-27T04:41:47Z")
Two. First. Mnemonic is the only word in the English Language that begins with M-N. I am not sure if it is true, but it was told to me in high school by a teacher and has allowed me to spell Mnemonic ever since. Second. To remember which side of the plate your bread plate belongs and which side your drink belongs, curl your thumb to your forefinger, holding the rest of your fingers straight. The hand that makes a lower case ‘b’ is the bread side and the side that makes the lower case ‘d’ is the drink side. It helps when you are at a large table in a fancy restaurant and you aren’t seated next to your wife. excavating (for a mind) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/67 "2013-01-27T05:26:55Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m sure it’s not unique, but I did come up with it on my own when I was a tyke. “Port” has the same number of letters as “left”, and “starbord”, uh, must be the other one then (right). This one probably isn’t unique either but I came up with it independently. Left, red, and port all have fewer letters than their opposite, right, green, and starboard. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/68 "2013-01-29T00:39:47Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Most do, yes. Niether of mine fit into the “most” catagory. i before e, except after c, or when sounding like A like neighbor and weigh… and neither. and foreign. and protein. and height… > [@standingwave](#): > > Stalac **T** ite and stalag **M** ite. I picture the **T** as hanging down from the cave ceiling and the **M** as standing up from the floor. Came up with this when I was a 12yo budding geologist only to find out later that the normal mnemonic is c for ceiling and g for ground. I had to break myself of this because of faulty information. I was taught (by whom I forget) that stalagmites might fall on you and had to refute that with the dangling T and the built up M’s. Doubly slow because of double the mnemonics. > [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Second. > To remember which side of the plate your bread plate belongs and which side your drink belongs, curl your thumb to your forefinger, holding the rest of your fingers straight. The hand that makes a lower case ‘b’ is the bread side and the side that makes the lower case ‘d’ is the drink side. It helps when you are at a large table in a fancy restaurant and you aren’t seated next to your wife. I like this one. My feeble contribution: the joke: “What do you call meteors that miss the planet?” meteor-wrongs helps me remember that the ones in space are meteoroids, the ones mid flight are meteors, and the ones you can dig up out of the earth are meteorites. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/69 "2013-01-29T00:47:48Z")
A little one that I came up with: Dromedary camels have one hump, like a **D** , while Bactrian camels have two humps, like a **B** ---
**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:** [January 29, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/70 "2013-01-29T13:33:55Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > “Please Come Over For Gay Sex” > > Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species > > There are some other great ones (“Pickles Please Mellissa Carnally”) but I don’t remember them off the top of my head. Just a few months ago, I learned: Kings play chess on fine grained sand. Another one I like: Now, I have a rhyme assisting My feeble brain its tasks resisting (Digits of pi). ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/71 "2013-01-29T17:26:33Z")
> [@maisoui](#): > > Two "A"s s **e** p **a** r **a** t **e** two "E"s. – This may not be unique since a teacher taught it to me, but no one has ever heard it before when I say it. > > Using your left hand to make an “L” reminded me that if if you make a circle with your thumb and index finger on each hand, the left one makes a lower case “b” and the right one makes a lower case “d.” The B comes before the D reading your hands left to right, and B comes before D in the alphabet. When I volunteered in my kids’ classrooms, it helped a lot of early readers to know which side of the stick the ball goes on for each letter… “Which one is the “d,” again???” I see someone beat me to this, but I was going to mention these same finger configurations to figure our which drink glass or bread plate is mine at a set table. the lower case “b” is for bread, which is on the left; the lower case “d” is for drink, which is on the right. > [@JpnDude](#): > > **Chip ‘n’ Dale** > > Chip –\> Chocolate Chip –\> Dark –\> Dark nose > > Dale has the red nose. > > Also, Chip is usually standing to the left of Dale. From left to right, “C” comes before “D”. > > Also, Chip has two teeth that look as one, while Dale has two teeth separated by a gap. “1” comes before “2”. Easier: just think of Chip’s chocolate chip nose. Dale is the other one. > [@picunurse](#): > > I remember this because “t” is higher in the alphabet than “m.” > For port and starboard, I remember port and left are lower in the alphabet than starboard and right. Port & Left each have four letters. Stars are bright, which rhymes with right. Hence, port = left; star –\> bright –\> right. In grade school I confused PEACE with PIECE. Until my teacher pointed out that PIECE includes the word PIE. A piece of pie. Mmmm. Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Seren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Seren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/72 "2013-01-29T18:32:57Z")
For electrical engineering, our professor taught us “Eli the Ice man” as a way to remember that, with inductors (L), voltage (E) leads current (I) and that in capacitors ©, current leads voltage. ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/73 "2013-01-29T18:40:11Z")
One I made up in organic chemistry: Mary Eats Peanut Butter… Methyl, Ethyl, Propyl, Butyl… the rest I could remember no problem for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/74 "2013-01-29T18:50:33Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > i before e, except after c, or when sounding like A like neighbor and weigh… and neither. and foreign. and protein. and height… “and in words that are weird.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/75 "2013-01-29T18:57:35Z")
In geography class, it was hard to remember latitiude and longitude-which was the veritical and which the horizontal. Then the teacher explained: latitude sounds like FATitude. A big fat man has a belt around his middle. A line of "fat"itude is the belt line. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/76 "2013-01-29T20:17:02Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > A little one that I came up with: Dromedary camels have one hump, like a **D** , while Bactrian camels have two humps, like a **B** I like that one. Onomatopoeia - the British English spelling - can be remembered by singing it to the tune of Old Macdonald Had A Farm. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/77 "2013-02-01T05:26:36Z")
i before e, except after c, unless you want to run a feisty heist on a weird beige foreign neigbour… ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/78 "2013-03-13T20:29:09Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > The geologic time scale: > Camels often sit down carefully, perhaps their joints creak, possibly early oiling might prevent painful rheumatism. > This one includes the Cenozoic epochs, but has the disadvantage of lumping the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian together into Carboniferous. So, I had to remember that Pennsylvania is “above” Mississippi. I altered that to be “Camels often sit down mighty precariously…” (And I learnt it as _rusting_, not _rheumatism_.) ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/79 "2013-03-13T21:10:26Z")
To remember if you are heading in or out of a shipping channel say “red, right, return”. You have to travel between the red and green markers and they will always be on your right as you are returning from sea. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037/80 "2013-03-13T22:20:02Z")
Blonde Women Really Are Fun Buoyancy. Weights, Releases, Air, Final Check - The steps of a buddy check before a scuba dive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-and-unique-mnemonics/648037.md?page=5)