Comments on: Weekend Word Wrap: mnemonics

By: al

al — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:08:10 +0000

If you’re still looking:

Washington and Jefferson met many a jeer;
Van Buren had troubles, plenty to fear.
Poor bankbills let Johnson go home grumbling;
And Cleveland heard clearly McKinley’s rumbling,
Til Wilson held currency “Hooverly” rare.
The End

When I was in high school, they ended with Eisenhower. Perhaps someone had added new lines since then.

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:17:08 +0000

I learned the first part of the president’s poem in 9th grade from a wonderful history teacher:

“Washington and Jefferson met many a jeer. Van Buren had troubles plenty to fear.”

I wish I could find the rest to teach to my grandchildren.

By: Alice

Alice — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:56:04 +0000

I remember having spelling test and one girl in my class could never spell ‘together’. So someone else suggested saying ‘to get her’. Its not very impressive, but it stuck!

By: Oliver

Oliver — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:03:04 +0000

I remember part of one the Chicago Tribune published in the 1940’s. I’ve lost it now, but it covered all the Presidents at the time.

Washington and Jefferson met many a jeer,

What a shame to have lost the rest!

By: big mike

big mike — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:13:19 +0000

BRASS mnemonic for Breathe, Relax, Aim,Stop (breathing), Squeeze.

How to fire a rifle accurately without jerking the sights off target

By: Leigh

Leigh — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:54:30 +0000

We were taught “King Paul Cries Out for Good Soup” in Biology. Of course, the 7th grade boys used the word sex instead of soup.

By: Dave Davis

Dave Davis — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:23:15 +0000

Sulfuric acid formula

Johnny was a good boy
Johnny is no more
What he thought was H2O
Was H2SO4

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:51:59 +0000

It’s not really a mnemonic, but since I saw someone mention “50 Nifty United States” above…

My teacher when I was in school gave us a song to remember the 13 colonies.

Virginia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts for a start,
Then Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island had a part.
The Carolinas, North and South, and York and Jersey New,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia, too.

By: Ken David

Ken David — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:57:18 +0000

While not strictly a mnemonic I think Robert A. Heinlein’s “TANSTAAFL” deserves a place in this compendium.
There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!

By: Liz Sigal

Liz Sigal — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:11:05 +0000

Planets: My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas was the old way; now I guess it’s My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nothing. Of course, my 11-year-old tells me that Ceres is now a dwarf planet, like Pluto, and don’t we have Sedna and Xena floating around out there?? *sigh*

Seven Deadly Sins: WASPLEG (wrath, avarice, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony).

Linnean Classification: Please Come Over For Great Sex (phylum, class, order, family, genus, species).