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I Before E (Except After C): Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff
Hundreds of Memory Tricks You Learned in the Classroom
"Thirty days hath September..." How many times have you relied on that old maxim to figure out a calendar?
Or how about "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the notes on the treble clef?
These ingenious, practical memory techniques abound in i before e (except after c) with its hundreds of curious sayings. In this clever--and often hilarious--collection, you'll find engaging mnemonics, arranged in easy-to-find categories that include:
* Geographically Speaking
* Time and the Calendar
* Think of a Number
* The Sky at Night and by Day
Guaranteed to amuse and inform, this little book is a perfect gift for students of all ages.
"Thirty days hath September..." How many times have you relied on that old maxim to figure out a calendar?
Or how about "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the notes on the treble clef?
These ingenious, practical memory techniques abound in i before e (except after c) with its hundreds of curious sayings. In this clever--and often hilarious--collection, you'll find engaging mnemonics, arranged in easy-to-find categories that include:
* Geographically Speaking
* Time and the Calendar
* Think of a Number
* The Sky at Night and by Day
Guaranteed to amuse and inform, this little book is a perfect gift for students of all ages.
167 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
January 24, 2008
Remember the days before we all sat in front of computers with nice fast internet connections and a short cut to Google?
In those days you had to remember stuff. You had to be able to recite it, and use it at the drop of a hat.
Of course, all thats gone now. You can look up anything in seconds. But isn't it nice to know that you don't need a net connection sometimes?
This book gathers together memory aids from various fields and stitches them together in some sort of order. There is everything from spelling to skeletons, Kings to continents.
I expect that most people (of my age anyway) will remember some mnemonic that was drilled in to them, and will look to see if it is here. I certainly did, and found 'OIL RIG' (oxidation is loss, reduction is gain, its a chemistry thing) ROY G. BIV (the colours in the light spectrum) etc.
I was especially pleased to find the one for tightening/loosening screws (righty-tighty, lefty loosey).
The one I would like to have found is the one my chemistry teacher used to teach the reactivity series of common metals: Kind Natives Can Magic A Zebra... Feeble Pygmies Conjure Angry Apes (Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminium, Zinc, Iron, Lead, Copper, Silver Gold). I must have learnt that more than 25 years ago, and I still remember it with ease...
In those days you had to remember stuff. You had to be able to recite it, and use it at the drop of a hat.
Of course, all thats gone now. You can look up anything in seconds. But isn't it nice to know that you don't need a net connection sometimes?
This book gathers together memory aids from various fields and stitches them together in some sort of order. There is everything from spelling to skeletons, Kings to continents.
I expect that most people (of my age anyway) will remember some mnemonic that was drilled in to them, and will look to see if it is here. I certainly did, and found 'OIL RIG' (oxidation is loss, reduction is gain, its a chemistry thing) ROY G. BIV (the colours in the light spectrum) etc.
I was especially pleased to find the one for tightening/loosening screws (righty-tighty, lefty loosey).
The one I would like to have found is the one my chemistry teacher used to teach the reactivity series of common metals: Kind Natives Can Magic A Zebra... Feeble Pygmies Conjure Angry Apes (Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminium, Zinc, Iron, Lead, Copper, Silver Gold). I must have learnt that more than 25 years ago, and I still remember it with ease...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2010
Subtitled "Old-school ways to remember stuff", this was a very mixed bag. Some old favourites are there but there's a lot of random things as well, and I often thought that the mnemonic is sometimes more complicated than what it's, er, mnemon-icising.
March 6, 2019
Really good reference book to own, great for students and infojunkies alike. If the TAFE Library ever CANCELs this book, I want to grab it!
Had so many Mnemonics, I wish there was an audio version where it's on repeat and brainwashes you to remember them.
Pretty much the only one I remember is from music class in years 4 to 6 (recorder of all things, ugh!) is the music notes or scale (I read that a few months ago and obviously forgot already) is EGBDF, Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.
I really ought to get copies of these types of Reference genre books, they're not something you loan and just read once, you need to own them and refer to them often.
If anyone knows of audio recordings of Mnemonics let me know. I can play them on repeat, it's how I finally managed to master the 7s in the time tables (after a week or so) with the tapes from my older sister I listened to in bed before falling asleep.
Had so many Mnemonics, I wish there was an audio version where it's on repeat and brainwashes you to remember them.
Pretty much the only one I remember is from music class in years 4 to 6 (recorder of all things, ugh!) is the music notes or scale (I read that a few months ago and obviously forgot already) is EGBDF, Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit.
I really ought to get copies of these types of Reference genre books, they're not something you loan and just read once, you need to own them and refer to them often.
If anyone knows of audio recordings of Mnemonics let me know. I can play them on repeat, it's how I finally managed to master the 7s in the time tables (after a week or so) with the tapes from my older sister I listened to in bed before falling asleep.
July 1, 2018
3.5 stars.
I really liked the first chapter of this book, I found plenty of stuff that I could use as a teacher. However, the rest of the book isn't as useful to me (though some parts, especially the life saving chapter is very interesting). One thing that really let me down is that most of these mnemonics are probably harder to remember than the thing you want to remember. So the usefulness of most of them... Is questionable in my opinion. But it is an interesting and fun book if you are interested!
I really liked the first chapter of this book, I found plenty of stuff that I could use as a teacher. However, the rest of the book isn't as useful to me (though some parts, especially the life saving chapter is very interesting). One thing that really let me down is that most of these mnemonics are probably harder to remember than the thing you want to remember. So the usefulness of most of them... Is questionable in my opinion. But it is an interesting and fun book if you are interested!
August 25, 2011
I often wonder, What did we do before: typewriters, computers, internet, google, etc. This little book reminds me--one who graduated from high school with none of the listed technology except access to a manual typewriter only in secretarial training class. We relied on memory gimmicks to pass on knowledge by rote memory. I bought this book so I carried it around to peruse when waiting for something or somebody. It's fun to remember how things use to be. I didn't read every page but it was amusing though probably not as useful today with the current technology.
September 17, 2019
A book of mostly mnemonics.
The problem I have always had with mnemonics is not remembering the mnemonic but failing to remember what each letter stands for. If I had been taught this way then I would have taken in very little (some might argue I have anyway.)
I am sure that it is a useful book for many to have and to refer to. It won't help everyone.
It is a quick read if read in one session. I appreciate the thought behind the book and it has some good information.
The problem I have always had with mnemonics is not remembering the mnemonic but failing to remember what each letter stands for. If I had been taught this way then I would have taken in very little (some might argue I have anyway.)
I am sure that it is a useful book for many to have and to refer to. It won't help everyone.
It is a quick read if read in one session. I appreciate the thought behind the book and it has some good information.
Read
January 27, 2026Not for my age anymore.
July 3, 2018
There's a lot of good info on here on, as the title suggests, old school ways to remember stuff. Some of the stuff I found interesting (ex elephants, great lakes, and french verbs), but I skimmed through a lot of the pages that didn't interest me (sorry to all you chemists who love the periodic table, historians who can't get enough of Henry VIII, and geologists who think rock classification periods rock). It's just a tough read because there's no story driving you to continue, just your own desire to gain a little bit of extra wisdom not specifically tied to a certain schema, that you're hoping sticks.
Of course at this day in age, anything can be found by asking alexa, saying "hey siri", or by *gasp* typing the words into an online search engine ourselves. That being said, I am an elementary school teacher, and any fun little trick I can tell my youngsters that will help them remember is good in my book. Shoutout to my 4th grade teacher Mr. C who taught me many tricks for remembering how to spell things, that I still use (and now pass on to my students) today:
- Connecticut = (you) connect (the dots, then) I cut (the paper that you connected the dots on
- Tennessee = (in sing/song tune) T, E, double N E. Double S, double E spells Tennesse- Whee!
- Hawaii = A laugh (ha) a cry (wa) a double ii
- tomorrow = Tom (aka crazy man on the only piece of land for miles to come) or row (away from him hoping you'll have better luck seeing tomorrow on the open seas)
Of course at this day in age, anything can be found by asking alexa, saying "hey siri", or by *gasp* typing the words into an online search engine ourselves. That being said, I am an elementary school teacher, and any fun little trick I can tell my youngsters that will help them remember is good in my book. Shoutout to my 4th grade teacher Mr. C who taught me many tricks for remembering how to spell things, that I still use (and now pass on to my students) today:
- Connecticut = (you) connect (the dots, then) I cut (the paper that you connected the dots on
- Tennessee = (in sing/song tune) T, E, double N E. Double S, double E spells Tennesse- Whee!
- Hawaii = A laugh (ha) a cry (wa) a double ii
- tomorrow = Tom (aka crazy man on the only piece of land for miles to come) or row (away from him hoping you'll have better luck seeing tomorrow on the open seas)
October 15, 2009
Neat little book that can be read in one sitting. It is divided up into the following categories:
1. The English Language
2. To Spell or Not to Spell
3. Think of a Number
4. Geographically Speaking
5. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
6. Time and the Calendar
7. The Sky at Night and by Day
8. The World of Science
9. World History
10. Musical Interlude
11. Foreign Tongues
12. Religious Matters
13. The Human Body
14. Lifesaving Tips
15. The World of Work
16. Other Favorites
Some mnemonics I remembered from my childhood. Others were brand new to me. Some were revised.... There was a way to memorize the periodic table that was interesting. Memorizing musical notes, presidents of the U.S., major events of the Civil War (U.S.), the six wives of Henry VIII, roman emperors, etc.
From the book:
"Chemistry Experiments: A Warning
And here's a warning to all would-be chemists about the dangers of confusing water with sulfuric acid:
Johnny was a chemist,
But Johnny was no more,
For what he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4!"
1. The English Language
2. To Spell or Not to Spell
3. Think of a Number
4. Geographically Speaking
5. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
6. Time and the Calendar
7. The Sky at Night and by Day
8. The World of Science
9. World History
10. Musical Interlude
11. Foreign Tongues
12. Religious Matters
13. The Human Body
14. Lifesaving Tips
15. The World of Work
16. Other Favorites
Some mnemonics I remembered from my childhood. Others were brand new to me. Some were revised.... There was a way to memorize the periodic table that was interesting. Memorizing musical notes, presidents of the U.S., major events of the Civil War (U.S.), the six wives of Henry VIII, roman emperors, etc.
From the book:
"Chemistry Experiments: A Warning
And here's a warning to all would-be chemists about the dangers of confusing water with sulfuric acid:
Johnny was a chemist,
But Johnny was no more,
For what he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4!"
April 16, 2012
Cute and fun, but generally rather useless. Mnemonics were at times a bit convoluted and difficult, and topics ranged between the alphabet, numbers, the Seven Hills of Rome, digits of pi, and many other things I will never need to know. But maybe that's my (perhaps lacking?) modern education and attitude taking over.
April 12, 2020
A good book that help people to remember things or facts with easier way. A lot of useful tips even a tips for guys how to remember his wedding anniversary 😆
March 12, 2026
A concise guide to all sorts of general knowledge with handy hints on neat ways to remember the stuff, often in the form of bastardised nursery rhymes and pop songs, acronyms and mnemonics. Quite humorous and easily digestible. As the blurb says it is a fun mix of reference and nostalgia, doubtless intended by the author to evoke in the reader’s mind memories of the classroom and the rote learning of basic facts by such means.
We breeze through everything from very basic stuff such as the alphabet, spelling and the parts of speech; numbers and arithmetic; schoolboy geography; geology; the measurement of time and calendars; astronomy; science, particularly the periodic table; English history of the ‘1066 and All That’ kind of kings and queens and battles; ancient Greece; American history, especially presidents; musical notation; a bit of foreign languages; the books of the Bible; body parts; and, towards the end (and to me slightly incongruously) tips on first aid; and much, much else besides. All of it with aides memoire attached of one type or another, sometimes with a brief note on the origins of the device.
Though clearly intended to be humorous (spelt like that and not ‘humourous’ as the book explains) it is, I feel, sometimes unintentionally amusing in that the mnemonics which seem to be on almost every page are often much harder to remember than the things they are meant to help one recall. I mean, do we really need “Never Eat Shredded Wheat” or “Naughty Elephants Squirt Water” in order to remember the main compass points, North, East, South and West? Or “Eat An Aspirin After A Nasty Sandwich” to help us learn the seven continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America and South America? Or, to take a more elevated example from the section on geological periods, “Camels Often Sit Down Carefully. Perhaps Their Joints Creak? Possibly Early Oiling Might Prevent Permanent Rheumatism” for the sixteen epochs from the Cambrian through to the Holocene? Is that easier?
A comfortable and informative read. There is a very short bibliography but no index (though scarcely necessary).
We breeze through everything from very basic stuff such as the alphabet, spelling and the parts of speech; numbers and arithmetic; schoolboy geography; geology; the measurement of time and calendars; astronomy; science, particularly the periodic table; English history of the ‘1066 and All That’ kind of kings and queens and battles; ancient Greece; American history, especially presidents; musical notation; a bit of foreign languages; the books of the Bible; body parts; and, towards the end (and to me slightly incongruously) tips on first aid; and much, much else besides. All of it with aides memoire attached of one type or another, sometimes with a brief note on the origins of the device.
Though clearly intended to be humorous (spelt like that and not ‘humourous’ as the book explains) it is, I feel, sometimes unintentionally amusing in that the mnemonics which seem to be on almost every page are often much harder to remember than the things they are meant to help one recall. I mean, do we really need “Never Eat Shredded Wheat” or “Naughty Elephants Squirt Water” in order to remember the main compass points, North, East, South and West? Or “Eat An Aspirin After A Nasty Sandwich” to help us learn the seven continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, North America and South America? Or, to take a more elevated example from the section on geological periods, “Camels Often Sit Down Carefully. Perhaps Their Joints Creak? Possibly Early Oiling Might Prevent Permanent Rheumatism” for the sixteen epochs from the Cambrian through to the Holocene? Is that easier?
A comfortable and informative read. There is a very short bibliography but no index (though scarcely necessary).
April 22, 2022
A wonderful reference book for a myriad of mnemonics and acronyms to learn things from history, to language, to chemistry, to biology. The information relating to history is very much British and Western centred, which is understandable, but it would be fun to see similar learning devices applied to a wider range of world and cultural history.
This fun, little gem was gifted to me a few years back and it has helped me with my studies in Biology, in chemistry, and to remember other random facts I found interesting.
This fun, little gem was gifted to me a few years back and it has helped me with my studies in Biology, in chemistry, and to remember other random facts I found interesting.
August 17, 2020
I Before E (Except After C) contains all those useful mnemonics and rhymes to help you remember that grammar you learned in school and then forgot over the years. A slim book, one that is fun to dip in and out of, and even to test your memory! - Elisa, Book Grocer
Purchase this classic here for just $8.00
Purchase this classic here for just $8.00
August 1, 2019
This is almost entirely a list of mnemonics along the lines of "Can Queen Victoria Eat Cold Apple Pie?" - this is supposed to help me remember the names of the hills of Rome, but in reality it is just an extra thing to try to take in. If this is what old-school was like, then there is a reason it is old-school and not just school.
September 1, 2017
Just a way to remember things. Some of these mnemonics I knew while others were new to me. This is one that will sit on my reference shelf for the times I have a senior moment. I even learned a few new bits of trivia from it.
June 26, 2025
Although Goodreads says it was published on 1 January 2007, this looks exactly like one of those books they churn out at Christmas for people who don't know what to buy for a book-ish friend. Indeed, that may be how I came about possessing this book.
July 30, 2017
This book is a broadly enjoyable collection of various mnemonics to recall pieces of knowledge.
April 21, 2019
Although there are some fun comments, in general the book seems rather useless to me, as it suggests memorising through memorising twice as much (if not more).
June 8, 2020
Meant to read with my kids, but they weren't interested. I went ahead and skimmed through the book myself. Some fun factoids and mnemonics, if a bit dated.
March 16, 2021
We all should reread these easy-to-learn quips every 10 years or so to improve our basic understanding of English.
Read
August 19, 2021great book for reference menomics to learn different things
August 29, 2022
If you like mnemonics, this is the book for you.
November 15, 2022
So boring, it’s a book for teenagers or people with low knowledge that can be amazed by silly information or basic information, so I skimmed it, couldn’t read most of it, disappointed
May 22, 2023
This was a guide to things you learned in school
January 3, 2024
A handful book, it was nice to read it to remember some tools to remember stuff.
Like to have it at home !
Like to have it at home !
June 15, 2025
Saving this for my children
April 2, 2026
I read this multiple times when I was a child with nothing else to read
I did not understand it
I did not understand it
September 11, 2012
A friend gave me a series of these books to have a look at. She saw them in a shop and bought them for her son as she thought they may be of use when he starts school and to encourage him to use some old school techniques to memorise.
The book was diverse in subject matter covering English Language to History to Maths/Science to Geography to Religion and highlighted different mnemonic devices to remember lists and dates etc. Because it was so diverse, it didn't really work for me. Generalist books need to be pretty spectacular to engage me these days as I am looking for something with more substance (but again, the purpose of this book was as a generalist guide....so I was probably not the target audience).
I did jot down a few notes down based on the English Language and Maths/Science parts that could be useful in a class, but nothing that made me go "WOW". The book is a few years old so it does include Pluto in all the mnemonics on planets (hey...they IAA has spoken - "begone pluto") and it has the usual problem with BODMAS/PEDMAS assuming that addition is done before subtraction issue.
Overall though it was an okay read and for a younger student who is requiring to do a lot of memorising (not really the curriculum these days though...) it is a nifty little guide book.
The book was diverse in subject matter covering English Language to History to Maths/Science to Geography to Religion and highlighted different mnemonic devices to remember lists and dates etc. Because it was so diverse, it didn't really work for me. Generalist books need to be pretty spectacular to engage me these days as I am looking for something with more substance (but again, the purpose of this book was as a generalist guide....so I was probably not the target audience).
I did jot down a few notes down based on the English Language and Maths/Science parts that could be useful in a class, but nothing that made me go "WOW". The book is a few years old so it does include Pluto in all the mnemonics on planets (hey...they IAA has spoken - "begone pluto") and it has the usual problem with BODMAS/PEDMAS assuming that addition is done before subtraction issue.
Overall though it was an okay read and for a younger student who is requiring to do a lot of memorising (not really the curriculum these days though...) it is a nifty little guide book.
December 25, 2009
Bile from the liver emulsifies greases
Tinges the urine and colors the feces
Aids peristalsis, prevents putrefaction
If you remember all this, you'll give satisfaction.
I found some of the mnemonics in this book to be strangely unsatisfying. (e.g., memorizing a word passage, whose letters correspond to the numbers of pi; if someone asks you to give them the decimal numbers of pi, what are you going to do? write down the passage and then count the letters? surely that's more difficult than just memorizing a string of numbers--and makes you look like a fool)
In addition, the white, middle-class Christian American default is all too prevalent (e.g., the "religious matters" section is entirely Christian, minus the 10 states of mind in Buddhism).
Overall, I did enjoy this book but wish it was something I would have happened upon as a child, when stuff like this was unknown and exciting.
Tinges the urine and colors the feces
Aids peristalsis, prevents putrefaction
If you remember all this, you'll give satisfaction.
I found some of the mnemonics in this book to be strangely unsatisfying. (e.g., memorizing a word passage, whose letters correspond to the numbers of pi; if someone asks you to give them the decimal numbers of pi, what are you going to do? write down the passage and then count the letters? surely that's more difficult than just memorizing a string of numbers--and makes you look like a fool)
In addition, the white, middle-class Christian American default is all too prevalent (e.g., the "religious matters" section is entirely Christian, minus the 10 states of mind in Buddhism).
Overall, I did enjoy this book but wish it was something I would have happened upon as a child, when stuff like this was unknown and exciting.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews