So I asked the greater planetarium community last week for whatever mnemonics they use to remember the order of the Zodiacal constellations. As a reminder, the constellations are:
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarious, Pisces
It’s a lot of words. Any mnemonic would be really long as well. Memorizing that mnemonic would probably take more effort than just memorizing the list. Still, I was optimistic.
However, what I got back from them wasn’t exactly memorable.
Now given, what responses I got were well thought out and creative, no doubt. They just weren’t really — memorable. For instance, I received one response that read, “A Tense Grey Cat Lay Very Low, Sneaking Slowly, Contemplating a Pounce.”
That one would be the easiest to remember by far! The problem is in the flow of the thing. Remember the one about the planets? “My very eager mother just served us nine pizzas.” See how the rhythm makes all the difference?
So I took myself to task to create a mnemonic device on my own! Turns out that’s a lot harder than it sounds. I spent a good part of my weekend staring at my keyboard and perusing a thesaurus. In the end, none of the ones I came up with flowed at all. None. I’m a failure at writing catchy mnemonics it seems.
But… (hehe) after much frustration I *did* happen to make a few slightly more memorable! Here’s what I came up with:
Around Thanksgiving, grandpas condone letting vivacious little spry sprouts carve a pumpkin.
Active tectonic gyrations could launch volcanic lava skyward, surely causing a panic.
Any time granny covets Leo’s vegan lunch, she should cut a pizza.
Antsy tribbles give captains love. Valued lush Scottie shouts, “Cut all power!”
As trusty gopher Chekov locates vessels, logical Spock studies cute aquarium personnel.
Anakin truly gone, corrupt Lord Vader labeled Solo-shaped carbonite, “Airmail Parcel.”
After Tatooine, grouchy Chewbacca luckily veered left steering safely clear around Porkins.
Acid trips give class lectures vivid life something something …cool astral plane!
Obviously, I should’ve spent more time getting actual work done. But what I ended with is one that I really might try to memorize for personal use. It seems the most …relevant.
“A time gone, cowboys loved viewing little stars, so cold and pretty.”
Umm, now that I think about it, I think I’ll go for the “Leo the vegan” one instead.
“Active tectonic gyrations could launch volcanic lava skyward, surely causing a panic.”
This personally would have to be my favorite!
Heh. That was actually the easiest of the list to come up with.
Speaking of seismic activity… I went to the meeting in Guy last night about the recent events in the area. It was very much like trying to hear a science lecture during a Tea Party rally.
Except now it’s been reduced to: “My very eager mother just served us nine…”
Perhaps a change to “noodles” or “nachos” is in order… *Grumbles about IAU ruining childhood*
Thhhbttt! I’m one of those who knew Pluto as a planet far longer than you, and it’s demotion was long overdue, IMO. It is most surely a large comet within the Kuiper belt, and to keep it as a planet would mean that we would have to add several more new planets to the mnemonic. :o)