30 days hath September
There are some really simple but incredibly useful things we learn in childhood that we never forget. The one I use probably more than any other is the number of days in each month, as in the rhyme my mother taught me:
"30 days hath September,
April, June and November,
of 28 there is but one,
and all the rest have 31."
It's so easy to quickly figure out how many days there are in the current month: just remember the first 2 lines in the rhyme. If the current month is September, April, June or November, then it has 30 days. If it isn't, and it's not February, then it has 31. Simple.
And how many of us still recite the alphabet (to ourselves) when trying to find something that's filed in alpha order? Quickly now -- what comes after PQRS? T, of course.
My favorite, though, is another rhyme my dear mother taught me: "A pint's a pound, the world around." It refers to the fact that 16 U.S. fluid ounces of water weighs about one pound (in the U.S.).
Why is this useful? Well, in most cases it probably isn't. But if you're the one who always puts the new 5-gallon bottle on the water cooler in your office, you'll want to know how much it weighs. Remember there are 2 pints in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon (you did learn these equivalents in high school, right?), so ... if 1 pint weighs 1 pound, then 1 x 2 x 4 x 5 = the weight of the water in a 5-gallon bottle: 40 pounds. Plus the bottle maybe adds another pound or so.
So remember ... 30 days hath September, T follows PQRS, and a pint's a pound. You now know everything you need to succeed in life.
