XKCD Web Comic #992: Mnemonics(described)

A webcomic of romance,
sarcasm, math, and language.

xkcd presents:

Some New

Science Mnemonics

Panel One:

Caption Above Drawing

Order of Operations

Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction

Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Drawing of a stick figure pointing at an open laptop on a desk, saying “Right there.” while a pony-tailed stick figure struggles with a dripping shark.

Caption Under Drawing

Please Email My Dad A Shark

0r

People Expect More Drugs And Sex

Panel Two:

Caption Above Drawing

SI Prefixes

Kilo, Mega, Giga Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta, Yotta (this last is in gray)

Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto, Yocto (this last is in gray)

Traditional:[I never learned one]

Drawing of a line graph with a dollar sign labeling the Y axis and a Zune on top of a downward plunging arrow hovering over a landscape with eleven tethered zeppelins, an offscreen voice saying, “er, what do we do with them?” and Karl  Marx in the foreground crying, “Rise!”

Caption Below

Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppenlins, Yo (this last is in gray)

Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone’s Zuens, Yo (this last is in gray)

Panel Three:

Caption Above Drawing

Taxonomy

Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex

Drawing of a stick figure with long, royal hair, saying “I’m not sure who doubts this, really.

Caption Below

Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Somtimes

or

Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System

Panel Four:

Caption Above Drawing

Geologic Periods

(Precambrian) Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene

Traditional: [I never learned one]

Drawing of a chart with four rows and seven columns of circles. A line across the chart separates the  bottom row from the rest.

Caption Below

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptives Partially Negate

Panel Five:

Caption Above Drawing

Resistor Color Codes

Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White

Traditional: [None I care for]

Drawing of a stick figure with a buzz cut, holding a picket sign that reads “Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail* 9/11″

*(BG note–we think that’s what it says)

Caption Below

“Big Brother Reptilian Overlords,” Yelled Glenn, “Brainwashing Via Ground Water!!”

or

Be Bold, Respect Others; You’ll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

Panel Six:

Caption Above Drawing

Planets

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos

Drawing of stick figure wearing Mary robes with a baby bump, talking to a bearded stick figure who is saying, “Uh huh.”

Caption Below

Mary’s “Virgin” Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor

Hover text: “Sailor Moon’s head exploded once”; and “Some men have explosive orgasms” both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).

Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Comic by xkcd.com. Described by BlindGadget under the Creative Commons license.