Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Mnemonic Devices



Lazy cats don't move...this is a mnemonic device if you want to remember your Roman numerals for the following:  50, 100, 500, and 1000.      ( 50 is L, 100 is C, 500 is D and 1000 is M. )

For the planets in their proper order....

My Very Earthy Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Pins.   (Of course, now they tell us that PLUTO is not a planet.  Oh well.) 


For the colors of the rainbow....
Richard of York gave battle in vain.   (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.)
This is an English one, by the way,  my husband just recently told me this one!

Please, feel free to share any that you know.




Do you know the writer/columnist William Safire?  He wrote something that was to be read in case of disaster for the moon landing in 1969.  The actor, Benedict Cummerbatch, read this recently in "Letters Live", a series of reading letters on stage in London.  Glad that this letter was not necessary for us to hear at the time.

Couldn't find a good moon shot, how about a well lit cloud instead?
  

21 comments:

  1. I learned that the colours of the rainbow spelled out a man's name -- Roy G. Biv.

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  2. Good Boys Do Fine Always The bass clef lines
    A Cat Eats Grapes Bass clef spaces
    Every Good By Does Fine Treble clef lines
    FACE Treble clef spaces
    I wonder why I remember those?

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    Replies
    1. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour...that is what they say in England!
      (Also, an album by the The Moody Blues.)
      You must be a musician!

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    2. I did play the trombone at one time but really I just love music.

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    3. Me and you both! I am crazy in love with music! The older I get, the more I realize that it is not a part of people's lives and memory as much as it is for me!

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  3. Did you know that in German, such mnemonic devices are called Eselsbrücke, "donkey's bridge"?
    The very first one I ever learned at elementary school was about the way the compass goes round: Nicht ohne Seife waschen (don't wash without soap) = North, East, South, West.

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    1. I love that! I think you told me before when I mentioned mnemonic devices about "donkey's bridge"! Good thing you told me again, because I had forgotten all about it. My brain is like a sieve. Many would be alarmed thinking of age related memory problems, but honestly, I have always been this way.
      How funny, the points on a compass...maybe being from the South of the USA and we have such wide spaces, I don't ever remember not knowing north, east, south and west!

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  4. I really like the rainbow mnemonic. That eulogy was very well written, but I'm glad it didn't have to be shown.

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    1. Hey Kay!
      You will have to remember it when you see one of your many rainbows in Hawaii!
      I was moved by the piece. The 60's were such a rough time, I was glad that they ended with the Moon Landing.

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  5. Hello Kay,

    As our minds seem to be collectively and individually disintegrating, anything which helps us remember things is very welcome!

    Happy Easter!

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    1. Hey Jane & Lance!
      So happy to see your comment here! I am with you on anything that helps with the memory.
      Happy Easter to you both.

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  6. A moving tribute that we are all glad wasn't needed! And it's so early in the morning as i rush out the door i don't know if i can remember any other mnemonics than the ones already mentioned.

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    1. If you can think of any, let me know. I might not remember what you tell me...see the comment to Meike above...but I hey knows, I might retain some knowledge sometime!

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  7. To be honest I ultimately end up forgetting mnemonic devices. Or what they're supposed to stand for. They've never been very good for me. I can tell you, however, that Pluto IS a planet again.

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    1. IS it or ISN"T it? Man, I can't keep up with it! And hey, I don't care what anyone says, PLUTO is Micky Mouse's dog!

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  8. Never Eat Shredded Wheat - North, East, South, West - shredded Wheat is a breakfast cereal. Happy Easter! xx

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    1. I do know shredded wheat cereal. I felt that it had to come from the USA originally, and I had to look it up to make sure! Henry Perkey invented shredded wheat in 1890 in Denver, Colorado!
      And Henry Perkey, I like shredded wheat! :-)

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    2. Oh, and Amy, Happy Easter to you too! xx

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  9. Apart from a few from Uni days which were very specific I've never been able to remember mnemonics. In fact I have enough difficulty these days in remembering how to spell it.

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    1. Your comment made me chuckle. I knew how to spell mnemonics when I wrote this post but when I went to answer a comment, I couldn't remember it and had to look it up! When I am tired, it makes such a great difference to my brain.

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