# What semi-useless trivia is worth memorizing? What S.U.T. have you memorized?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 29, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910 "2013-09-29T11:54:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/1 "2013-09-29T11:54:15Z")
As mentioned in another thread I recently utilized my work day drive time to memorize the Presidents of the U. S. in order. I can now recite them like I recite the alphabet.
Then I considered what else is worth memorizing. I settled on Oscar Best Picture winners and so far have the years 1950-present down pat.
I should mention that I play weekly bar trivia so some of this will inevitably come in handy.
I expect it will take me another 2-4 weeks to be comfortable with the Oscars list. What should I go to next?
What knowledge, trivial or vital, have you memorized?
mmm
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### Author:  [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/2 "2013-09-29T12:20:50Z")
The colors of a rainbow in order.
Or to be more precise, the optical spectrum of colors in visible light as determined by Sir Isaac Newton. In order, they are:
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet
I learned it as Roy G Biv. when I took SCUBA lessons many, many years ago. (1989)
Starting with red, it’s the order that the colors will seem to disappear as you descend in sea water. IIRC, blood will appear bright green, at a depth of ~ 30’! 😛
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/3 "2013-09-29T13:44:00Z")
As a collector of books, I memorized how many big publishing houses denoted their First Editions and also the famous points of collectible books - e.g., Steinbeck’s _Cannery Row_’s First was bound in a buff cloth until they ran out and switched to yellow - so the buff ones have more value.
As a guitar geek, I wouldn’t want to guess the trivially useless crap I have up in my brain. Makes, models, production runs, feature changes, components used, etc. knowing who Tadeo Gomez and Abigail Ybarra are in Fender Land\* is just silly, but there you go.
\*Gomez did the final checks on Fender necks in the 50’s; he signed and dated them in pencil. Ybarra wound Fender pickups from the 50’s until recently - she got so culty-famous that in her last years, Ybarra-wound pickups were a Custom Shop option :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/4 "2013-09-29T14:20:21Z")
Can you name all fifty states? I amuse myself in this manner on occasion.
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### Author:  [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/5 "2013-09-29T14:30:17Z")
I have memorized the alphabet backwards while bored in class in high school. That’s even more useless than the presidents or Oscar trivia or all the states. 😛
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### Author:  [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/6 "2013-09-29T18:43:58Z")
When I was a sorority pledge, we had to say the Greek alphabet three times on a match.
(This would now be considered hazing, as would many of the things we had to do, but I had a hell of a lot of fun, and I was never asked to do anything that made me feel uncomfortable or unsafe.)
My pledge sisters and I coached each other until we were all able to do it, and some of us got up to nine or 10 times on a match. As a consequence, I have the Greek alphabet burned into my brain.
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### Author:  [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/7 "2013-09-29T18:56:53Z")
What does “on a match” mean? When I was taking ancient Greek, I learned the alphabet, and, well, it’s an alphabet. Once you know it, you can say it as many times as you like. 😛
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### Author:  [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/8 "2013-09-29T19:35:26Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#):
>
> IIRC, blood will appear bright green, at a depth of ~ 30’! 😛
That doesn’t sound right. I’ve been in a submersible, and as best as I can remember the bright red warning labels just looked brown at depth.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/9 "2013-09-29T19:55:54Z")
> [@EmilyG](#):
>
> I have memorized the alphabet backwards while bored in class in high school. That’s even more useless than the presidents or Oscar trivia or all the states. 😛
That can be really useful if you like to drink and drive. Saying the alphabet backwards is a sobriety test cop sometimes use. Hardly anyone ever gets it right even stone sober so that skill just might be the edge you need someday.
I know the generic and brand names of a lot of drugs, especially psychoactive ones, even though I have never done illegal drugs myself. I also know the full names of the active ingredients in many drugs. Lots of people can tell you the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana is THC for example. Not many people can tell you what that stands for off the top of their head like I can however.
delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol
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### Author:  [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/10 "2013-09-29T20:12:36Z")
[Sporcle](http://www.sporcle.com/)
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/11 "2013-09-29T20:41:32Z")
1. Canadian Prime Ministers
2. Kings & Queens regnant of England/Great Britain/United Kingdom, 1066 to present.
3. Presidents of the United States
4. Vice-Presidents of the United States
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### Author:  [@XRaeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XRaeth)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/12 "2013-09-29T20:46:11Z")
> [@Telperion](#):
>
> That doesn’t sound right. I’ve been in a submersible, and as best as I can remember the bright red warning labels just looked brown at depth.
I would assume that blood has other pigments than red in it. Normally the red pigments greatly overpower the other colors and that’s all you see. When there is an absence of red light however the other pigments would become visible. That’s my WAG anyways XD.
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/13 "2013-09-29T21:06:39Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#):
>
> Can you name all fifty states? I amuse myself in this manner on occasion.
In junior high I had to learn that stupid song “Fifty Nifty United States” Dumb song, but part of the lyrics are the fifty states in alphabetical order. I still have them memorized and it comes in handy sometimes.
> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> 1. Kings & Queens regnant of England/Great Britain/United Kingdom, 1066 to present.
I can do the kings and queens things, and also name their spouses. For an American this is truly useless.
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### Author:  [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/14 "2013-09-29T21:08:20Z")
> [@XRaeth](#):
>
> I would assume that blood has other pigments than red in it. Normally the red pigments greatly overpower the other colors and that’s all you see. When there is an absence of red light however the other pigments would become visible. That’s my WAG anyways XD.
Ah, that seems reasonable. I imagine the first person to notice that must have been more than a little surprised, though.
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### Author:  [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/15 "2013-09-29T21:34:00Z")
I can list all the integers from 1 to [whatever], including wisserteen!
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### Author:  [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/16 "2013-09-29T21:36:26Z")
The 50 states, their capitals, largest cities, and National Parks
Don’t forget the National Parks. I memorized them before some important trivia matches and used that knowledge frequently.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/17 "2013-09-29T21:46:26Z")
Are you a baseball fan? How about all of the World Series winners, beginning with the 1903 World Series? Or all of the Super Bowl winners or Stanley Cup winners.
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### Author:  [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/18 "2013-09-29T21:47:40Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#):
>
> What does “on a match” mean? When I was taking ancient Greek, I learned the alphabet, and, well, it’s an alphabet. Once you know it, you can say it as many times as you like. 😛
“On a match” means you strike a match, and before the match burns down to your fingers, you must complete the task.
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/19 "2013-09-29T21:48:56Z")
The winning and losing teams in the Grey Cup since 1998, and the host city for each match.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-semi-useless-trivia-is-worth-memorizing-what-s-u-t-have-you-memorized/669910/20 "2013-09-29T23:39:24Z")
> [@Telperion](#):
>
> Ah, that seems reasonable. I imagine the first person to notice that must have been more than a little surprised, though.
or there are vulcans doing surak knows what in earth’s bodies of water.
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