Mnemonics help you remember facts, data, and relationships through catchy phrases, acronyms, and associations. On this page, you'll find a collection of well-known and useful memory aids across various subjects – from science and geography to music and everyday life.
The order of the planets (from the Sun):
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Moon phases:
“When the Moon looks like a D, it is Developing (waxing).
When it looks like a C, it is Contracting (waning).”
Electricity (current & voltage):
Voltage = Pressure, I = current → think of water flowing in a pipe.
Electronics (capacitors vs inductors):
“Capacitors let current Come first,
Leads lag in Loops (inductors).”
Fat-soluble vitamins:
ADEK (Vitamins A, D, E, K)
Essential amino acids:
“Private Harry Is Trying My Little Very Long Training”
(Phenylalanine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Threonine, Methionine, Leucine, Valine, Lysine, Tryptophan)
Lab safety (mixing acid and water):
“Add acid to water, never the reverse!”
Cardinal directions (clockwise):
Never Eat Soggy Waffles
(North, East, South, West)
The seven continents:
“Naughty Sailors Explore All Amazing Areas”
(North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Antarctica)
1492 – Columbus sails:
“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
1066 – Battle of Hastings:
“Ten sixty-six – the Normans mix.”
1776 – American Independence:
“Seventeen seventy-six – independence kicks!”
Guitar strings (low to high):
Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie
(E A D G B E)
Treble clef lines:
Every Good Boy Does Fine
Treble clef spaces:
Spell FACE
Order of sharps:
Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle
Math – Trigonometry:
SOH CAH TOA
Sin = Opposite / Hypotenuse
Cos = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
Tan = Opposite / Adjacent
Time change (Daylight Saving):
“Spring forward, fall back.”
OSI Model layers:
Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away
(Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation, Application)
Port and starboard:
“Port and left both have four letters.”
Convex vs concave:
“ConCAVE has a cave (goes inward).
Convex bulges outward.”
Table setting:
“Fork on the left, knife on the right.”
Do you know any useful or funny mnemonics? Feel free to share them in the comments!