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SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
What are some mnemonic devices you have used seemingly forever?

I use the following and some more probably...

  • Never Eat Shredded Wheat - North East South West, the directions of the compass going clockwise.
  • Tom or row - how to spell "tomorrow".
  • Desert/dessert - Desert has one s for Sand, dessert has two s's for Sweet Stuff.
  • Lose/loose - Lose lost an "o". Loose has has two o's loosely next to each other (no it doesn't make sense to be either but I remember it!)
There's some obvious ones that I don't use very often relating to the notes on a scale or the colors of the rainbow...

What ones do you have? Maybe what you type here will be ingrained in other users memories for the rest of their lives! :eek:
 

Bennieboy©

macrumors 65816
Jan 15, 2009
1,276
1
england

  • Naughty elephants squirt water North south east west
    Cash rules everything around me - CREAM

cant think a any more lol
 

xUKHCx

Administrator emeritus
Jan 15, 2006
12,583
9
The Kop
  • Lefty loosey right tighty
  • Never Ever Support Watford - Local adaption and is probably used whenever people live in or near places start with a W.
  • Stalactights hang down (then I have trouble spelling stalactites) :D
  • There is no port left in the bottle

[*]Desert/dessert - Desert has one s for Sand, dessert has two s's for Sweet Stuff.

I use dessert has more s' as you always want more.
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
To learn the names and order of the carpel bones, I made up a very dirty mnemonic (that I won't repeat here). Same for the branches of the brachial plexus (the clean part: Randy Travis Drinks Coors = Roots, Trunks, Divisions, Cords)

I just had a exam in Internal Auditing, which consisted of having to memorize lists of seemingly unrelated facts, and then regurgitating said lists for over 2 hours on a 33 page exam. These lists were usually 10-20 items long (sometimes each item had one or two words, sometimes full sentences), and there were probably 15-20 lists. Besides maintaining an understanding of the material, I had no choice but to create ridiculous mnemonics to memorize everything.
 

fireshot91

macrumors 601
Jul 31, 2008
4,721
1
Northern VA
I don't use mnemonics..lol. I just know how to spell stuff on my own.

Other than in Spanish, can't for the life of me remember if delante or detras is front.
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
^^^^ Damn you skunk!!! :D

I don't use mnemonics..lol. I just know how to spell stuff on my own.

That's not what a mnemonic is necessarily used for.

mnemonic: a device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.

As I mentioned, I use them to help me remember long lists of words/sentences that, otherwise, would be impossible to remember.

For example, here's a short one that I made up for the operational auditing procedures of Advertising: R, CSI, I, I'M, ME, C?

I used that to remember this:
  1. Review and examine advertising policies and budgets.
  2. Classify the major types of advertisements.
  3. Select a sample of different types of advertisements.
  4. Identify the cost of each type of advertisement.
  5. Identify the scope of each type of advertisement.
  6. Investigate related complaints and litigation.
  7. Measure the effect of each type of advertisement on sales trends.
  8. Measure the effect of each type of advertisement on competitor's sales.
  9. Examine each advertisement from the auditor's personal standpoint.
  10. Compare each advertisement to competitors' advertisements.

Without the mnemonic, I would have remembered the concept of the procedures, but I definitely would have had a hard time remembering each step and the order of the steps.
 

capoeirista

macrumors 6502
Jan 21, 2007
448
0
There's so many for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus it's untrue.

All the one's I've been told start with 'Kinky' and go down hill from there....
 

skunk

macrumors G4
Jun 29, 2002
11,758
6,107
Republic of Ukistan
As we seem to be talking acronyms here, and although it's totally off-topic, I thought I'd add a conversation with a waitress, just for fun:
FUNEX?
SVFX.
FUNEM?
SVFM.
LFMNX.​
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
I thought this was going to be about power tools :eek:.

Not used anymore but my favourite from junior school was you spend Friday with Friends.
 

SilentPanda

Moderator emeritus
Original poster
Oct 8, 2002
9,992
31
The Bamboo Forest
There's so many for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus it's untrue.

All the one's I've been told start with 'Kinky' and go down hill from there....

Apparently you need a better mnemonic cause you forgot Species! :)

I was given "Kevin Put a Cover On Fathers Gun Sunday". Of course you have to drop the "a" but that was easy enough.
 

capoeirista

macrumors 6502
Jan 21, 2007
448
0
Apparently you need a better mnemonic cause you forgot Species! :)

I was given "Kevin Put a Cover On Fathers Gun Sunday". Of course you have to drop the "a" but that was easy enough.

Heh heh, fail. It's late and all day of thesis writing has gotten to me!
 

Knowlege Bomb

macrumors G4
Feb 14, 2008
10,194
8,833
US
The 14 leadership traits:

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE

Yeah, it's an acronym. But the fact that it's a pronouncable acronym kinda makes it a mnemonic too.
 

MacRy

macrumors 601
Apr 2, 2004
4,350
6,277
England
Many Very Elderly Men Just Sleep Unless Nudged Periodically

For the planets,

Although they don't require a periodical nudging any longer.

Edit: I remembered a useful one. To spell necessary - One collar and two sleeves.
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
As we seem to be talking acronyms here, and although it's totally off-topic, I thought I'd add a conversation with a waitress, just for fun:
FUNEX?
SVFX.
FUNEM?
SVFM.
LFMNX.​

Did you go back to your place or to hers?

Isn't an acronym a type of mnemonic?
 

skunk

macrumors G4
Jun 29, 2002
11,758
6,107
Republic of Ukistan
Did you go back to your place or to hers?
Hers was closer. No, really, you'll have to try harder...

Isn't an acronym a type of mnemonic?
It can be a code, which is practically the opposite of a mnemonic, as in the reported acronym used in letters home from returning servicemen in WW2: NORWICH.
kNickers Off, Ready When I Come Home :)
 

Surely

Guest
Oct 27, 2007
15,042
11
Los Angeles, CA
Hers was closer. No, really, you'll have to try harder...

I'll have to work on it later..... I'm off to the gym!

It can be a code, which is practically the opposite of a mnemonic, as in the reported acronym used in letters home from returning servicemen in WW2: NORWICH.
kNickers Off, Ready When I Come Home :)

I know that one!

But if a mnemonic is a device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something, NORWICH (and other acronyms) would fall under that definition, no?
 

Knowlege Bomb

macrumors G4
Feb 14, 2008
10,194
8,833
US
But if a mnemonic is a device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something, NORWICH (and other acronyms) would fall under that definition, no?

Pretty much.

The mnemonic uses words not associated with the subject to help remember the first letter of a sequence of words or the letters of one word. The acronym uses the letters from the sequence to be remembered to make a word that can be anunciated to recall that sequence. So they're kind of opposites with the same purpose.
 
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