Young Writers Society

Most of my reflecting on my childhood comes in the form of suddenly realising that a certain event was about ten years longer ago than I thought it was, but recently I was thinking about a mnemonic/memory aid that I have vivid memories of being taught in grade one.

In case the title wasn't enough of a clue for you, I'm talking about the mnemonic for remembering what order on the cardinal directions - North, South, East and West (it feels too weird saying it in their actual, clockwise order).

At my primary school in Australia, we learnt it as Never Eat Soggy Weetbix (which, when you think about it, isn't the best advice ever), but since Weetbix are quite an Australian (and I believe New Zealand) thing, it dawned on me that people in other parts of the world probably learnt it differently - not to mention other languages where the cardinal directions start with different letters.

So, I want to know: Did you learn a way of remembering the order of North, etc? If so, what was it? Are there others that people who grew up somewhere else have told you about?

I'm from the Mid-Western United States and I learned it as Never Eat Soggy Waffles.

(better advice because soggy waffles would be disgusting)

I always remembered it as, if you go from North to East to West to South, which is sort of like a Z shape, it spells out the word NEWS. It's an extremely complicated method, but also how I learned it. I'm not sure how other people learned it, though.

Yeah I learned when I was taught to read maps at age 5...
I was never taught anything else along the lines of mnemonic devices? Certainly nothing that I can remember now.

And btw, I am from the very very south east.

Never Eat Soggy Worms!

Or, alternatively, Never Eat Soggy Wheat (or Wheaties). It rhymed.

https://www.mnemonic-device.com/geograp ... outh-west/ This link has some interesting ones lol. I think I learned the “Never Eat Shredded Wheat” one at some point. And I’m from the midwestern US.

I learned it as NEWS, which makes the shape of a lightning bolt. My science and social studies teacher acted like this made all the sense in the world, because, as she taught us, "Lightning makes the NEWS!" I was 6 and I've carried it with me, unfailingly, since.

Never Eat Soggy Waffles is what I learned but I'm not sure where I learned that. I was born in Canada and raised in a Canadian home but my family and I traveled a lot when I was younger and we lived abroad in Spain for all of my primary years. While I was in Spain, I attended a British international school. So I'm not really sure if it's Canadian or British...

I just learned it as is- I've just always heard people say it "North South East West"... is that WRONG? O>O Why does it have to have an order- I know where all the directions are based off of each one and the sun and all that jazz.

NEVER EAT SOGGY WAFFLES

But also I'm more of a visual person so I actually just remember what a compass looks like lol. Unfortunately sometimes I get my Easts and Wests confused though... just like my lefts and rights...

yes.

Never Eat Soggy Waffles is what I learned, though I learned it from a friend when I was probably eight or so since I still hadn't learned a good trick at that point.

I think I also used to just picture a US map. Like, I grew up in NV and we visited CA a lot. So, I knew what/where the west coast was, and that north was up and south was down. So I'd just imagine a US map and go from there.

I always knew North from South, I just had trouble remembering West and East until I was told that W being on the left, and E on the right, spelled WE.
Pretty lame right?

Never Eat Soggy Waffles!

I was also taught that “the sun rises in the east and sets in the west” so I always repeat this to myself when I’m driving and I need to know where to go. Lol

I also learned Never Eat Soggy Waffles! Though I never had a problem with North and South, it was helpful for East and West.

Ohh I'm with @niteowl on this. Never Eat Shredded Wheat. :]
Heard of the Soggy Waffles one too I guess, but what we learned in school was the Shredded Wheat saying.

Also from Midwest - US.

Also thankful for phone navigation, because I would be totally lost actually figuring out which way the directions are in real life without it!