Learn fast and easy with mnemonics

Wondering what a mnemonic refers to ? A mnemonic is a way for people to remember things more easily. For instance, the treble clef lines on a music staff are for the notes E G B D and F and music students are taught to remember this with a mnemonic - Every Good Boy Does Fine.

The first known mnemonics were used by the Ancient Greeks. Cicero said the poet Simonides discovered the power of mnemonics to help him make visual images so he could remember things. The word mnemonic comes from the Greek words mnene, meaning memory and mnemon, meaning mindful.

Here you are some of the most famous mnemonic tricks, organized by topic:

1.Languages (Phonetics + Grammar)

2.Planets

3.Physics

4.Miscellanea

5.History

6.Geography

1.LANGUAGES

Phonetics

The manners of articulation:

Stop Fooling Around Now, Learn Good Voicing  (Stop, Fricative, Affricate, Nasal, Liquid, Glide, Vowel)

Grammar:

      -  I before E, except after C. And "weird" is just weird.

      - Much or Many?Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with countable nouns.

      - AM or PM? They refer to a 12 hour system, AM is in the morning and PM in the afternoon, the A comes before the P.

Also, here you have a link to the online mnemonic dictionary that would help you learn vocabulary.

2.PLANETS

To remember the planets in order of distance from the sun:

My very educated mother just served us nine pizzas.

3.PHYSICS

The planets, in order of their distance from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

MVEMJSUNP = “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas”

The colors of the rainbow, in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

ROY G. BIV (A made-up name)

Calendar: "Thirty Days Hath September, April, June and November. All the Rest Have Thirty-One, Except February." (Months of the year having 30 or 31 days)

MISCELLANEA

Seven Deadly Sins

Jog: lovely girls go skiing with elegant poodles

Elicits: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride

“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”.

Explanation: To type or write every letter of the alphabet.

5.HISTORY

The Royal Families of England

No Plan Like Yours To Study History Wisely

To remember the Royal Families of England

Norman (1066-),

Plantaganet (1154-),

Lancaster (1399-),

York (1461-),

Tudor (1485-),

Stuart (1603-),

Hanover (1714-1901),

Windsor (1901/1917-present))

“My Nice New Car Needs Re Painted. Maybe Dark Violet? No Shiny Gold!“

Explanation: The Original 13 States Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Connecticut New Jersey Rhode Island Pennsylvania Maryland Delaware Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia

“Will A Jolly Man Make A Jolly Visitor?”

Explanation: First 8 Am. Presidents by last name. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren

The 7 Wonders of the World

“Seems Like Mata-Hari Picked Her Targets Carefully “

Statue of ZeusLighthouse of AlexandriaMausoleum at HalicarnassusPyramid of KhufuHanging Gardens of BabylonTemple of Diana/ArtemisColossus of Rhodes

Mount Rushmore's Sculptures

(left to right) Sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln

“We Just Like Rushmore” The Heads on Mount Rushmore: Washington Jefferson Lincoln Roosevelt

Henry VIII's Wives:

“Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived. ” . A very commonly heard mnemonic for the six wives of Henry VIII.

Aragon      Boleyn      Seymour      Cleaves      Howard      Parr Arrogant      bull            sees          cleaners         hair         parted

and this was their fate:

Divorced  beheaded    died   divorced   beheaded  survived

and their children:

Mary       Elizabeth     Edward         none             none          none

THE SPANISH ARMADA

Here is a useful mnemonic diagram for remembering the date of the Spanish Armada that sailed against Tudor England:

The sails look like the "88" of the year (1588).

The execution of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots in 1587 led Philip II of Spain, a longstanding enemy of Protestant England, to plan an invasion to restore England to the faith of Rome. The fleet of 130 ships (called the Invincible Armada by Spain and commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia) sailed in July 1588 from Cadiz to pick up an invasion army from the Spanish territory of the Netherlands.

A scratch English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham and including Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins and Sir Martin Frobisher, harried the Armada as it sailed up the English Channel until, after a battle off the French port of Gravelines, the English drove the Armada on into the North Sea. Sidonia then had to sail on around Britain to get back to Spain. In the process he lost more than half of his ships, many being wrecked by storms off Scotland and Ireland.

SPANISH CONQUISTADORES

Here's a new mnemonic by Peter Hobbs for recalling which territories and Empires were overrun by the Spanish in their rapid conquest of the Americas in the early 1500s:

" COCOA 19, PIPs 31 "

(CO-CO-A) = MEXICO - CORTÉS - AZTECS (1519) (P-I-P) = PERU - INCAS - PIZARRO (1531)

Hernando Cortés had a force of only 600 men, a few small cannon, 13 muskets and 16 horses when he invaded Mexico in 1519, and Francisco Pizarro had even less when he attacked the Inca Empire in 1531 - 180 men, 27 horses and 2 cannon. Yet each vast Empire (Aztec and Inca) was brought under complete Spanish control within weeks of discovery.

THE GREAT FIRE of LONDON

Here is a useful mnemonic diagram for remembering the exact year-date of the fire that destroyed the old city of London in 1666:

The 6's in the year 1666 look like smoke rising from neighbouring houses on fire.

The Great Fire itself started at a bakery in Pudding Lane (now the site of the Monument) and destroyed most of the City of London over 3 days. Its growing effect was described in Samuel Pepys's famous diary.

Incidentally, when written in roman numerals, the year 1666 uses every roman numeral just once, in descending order - MDCLXVI !

THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS

Here's a mnemonic means of recalling the three main Greek philosophers of the past in their correct order of birth and therefore influence. Just imagine all three discussing philosophy together in a health spa (or mineral water spring bath):

" Greek   S P A"

Aristotle was a pupil of Plato, who in turn had been a pupil of Socrates. Philosophy was originally a Greek word meaning 'love of wisdom' and by coincidence Philo was another Greek philosopher in the first century A.D., though his influence was less great.

Socrates (469-399 B.C.) lived in Athens and wrote nothing himself, yet through his pupil Plato he has influenced the entire history of Western thought, culture and morality because of the way he spent his time just searching for truth by simple questions and answers. He was condemned to death at 70 years of age for "corrupting the youth of Athens" with his teachings, and his execution was administered in the form of a cup of hemlock to drink in his cell.

Plato (428-347 B.C.) was one of Socrates' pupils and many of his writings (called 'dialogues') contained conversations with Socrates and conveyed Socrates' systematic thoughts, teachings and methods, extending them also into new areas of philosophy such as the principles of politics and personal conduct. Plato's most famous work, the Republic, was chiefly concerned with the best form of life for men and States. He died aged 81 and was buried in Athens at the Academy, a school which he founded and which existed for another 8 centuries until A.D.529.

Aristotle (385-322 B.C.) was a Greek born in Thracia (now mostly Bulgaria) who joined Plato's Academy at the age of 18 and spend the next 20 years studying and writing. After Plato's death Aristotle left Athens and was afterwards invited by Philip of Macedonia to be tutor to his son Alexander (who became Alexander the Great). Years later Aristotle returned to Athens to found a rival school, the Lyceum, where he laid the foundations of various sciences including biology and zoology. Aristotle's works include Metaphysics and Ethics, and in his books on logic he invented many of the terms that are now everyday thought, such as quantity, quality, conclusion and theory and practice. It has been said that every thinker is his pupil, even when he does not know it.

6.GEOGRAPHY

The Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior “HOMES”

“See My Horse Eat Oats” (from west to east).

Explanation: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario

The Geological Ages:

Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous “  Camels often sit down carefully; perhaps their joints creak.”

Check the following link for more Mnemonic tricks that can help you remember faster and easier! Hope you find it useful !