People remember stories

Your knuckles know more than you think: Here’s what they can tell you

You might forget where you left your keys or your glasses, but some things are forever imprinted in your memory one way or another. And for those things you simply can’t seem to remember, some useful mnemonic devices can help you. For example, how can you remember the presidents on our bills? And what about all the spelling rules our language has? Is it "gray" or "grey"? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading and learn a few tricks.

You may handle bills every single day, but can you answer whose face is on each one? You don’t need to remember; this mnemonic device will do it for you: The phrase "When Jeff Left Home, Jack Got Fat" gives you the answer. As you can notice, the first letter of each word stands for the last name of the president or founding father: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Hamilton, Jackson, Grant, and Franklin.

Yes, we keep lots of calendars, but sometimes we have to double-check if a month has 30 or 31 days. Has this happened to you? If it has, next time you’ll want to use your knuckles. The rule is simple: Make two fists and count across your knuckles and the dips between them. Months that land on knuckles have 31 days. The dips are the shorter months, February being the shortest, naturally.

Have you ever had to try a few times before knowing whether you were loosening or tightening that screw? Well, with this rhythmic phrase, you won’t need to do that anymore. If you turn right, you’ll be making it tight. On the other hand, if you turn left, you’ll loosen it.

English spelling keeps everyone on their toes, and certain words have regional rules that make everything worse. Nobody can remember them all, so this device comes in handy. When you don’t know whether it is "gray" or "grey," think of it this way: Gray, with an A as in America. Grey, with an E, as in England.

"Necessary": This is another word with a spelling that can create a few problems. And the mnemonic device for this one is picturing a T-shirt. You know how a T-shirt has one "Collar" (that’s one C) and two Sleeves (that’s two S)? That’s it, spelling solved.

Back in school, memorizing the Great Lakes could feel like a geography pop quiz. Simply the word "HOMES" is a trick that many teachers share with their students. Why HOMES? Because each letter represents a lake: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and of course, Superior.

Just as with any other long list, remembering the order of the planets in our solar system is no piece of cake. But this fun phrase has the answer to your prayers, it’s not bout nachos, but about the names of the planets in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

This one sounds like breakfast advice, but it’s actually a compass lesson. The first letters match the four cardinal directions in clockwise order: North, East, South, West. Many kids learned this one in school, and plenty of adults still repeat it quietly when trying to picture a map in their heads.

This may sound silly, but many people struggle to point left; most need more than just a second to figure out which one is actually left. But many have discovered something quite useful: hold up both your hands and use your thumb and index finger to do an "L." Can you see which one forms a clear letter? That’s left, of course.

Is this connected to the Constitution? Yes, it is. Civics teachers sometimes lean on this unusual sentence to remember the seven articles of the US Constitution. Each word stands for one: Legislative, Executive, Judicial, States, Amendment, Supremacy, and Ratification. Now you just have to remember this funny phrase.

Alright, alright, alright!

How good are you at identifying American accents? Take a look at these!

Image: Joey Csunyo

The U.S. is a collection of regional accents, each with its own unique story. From coastal cities to rural towns, these speech patterns didn’t just happen—they evolved from waves of immigration, geography, and history. Let’s take a look at how some of the most recognizable American accents came to be. Is yours on the list?

Image: Maarten van den Heuvel

California accents may seem subtle, but they’re deeply rooted in the state’s layered history. Spanish was the dominant language before the Gold Rush brought English speakers and immigrants from Mexico, China, and other parts of the world. These waves of settlement shaped the way Californians speak today.

The Dust Bowl brought Southern dialects to the Central Valley, still heard in local speech. One major trend is the California vowel shift, which changes sounds in words like "kit" to "ket".

Image: Wes Hicks

Appalachia is a cultural region stretching from New York to Alabama, rooted in Cherokee lands and later settled by immigrants from Europe and beyond. Its rugged geography led to the development of Appalachian English, a dialect shaped by isolation and unique speech patterns like "ghostes" or "holler" for "hollow."

The Scots-Irish had a strong influence, bringing words like "britches" for pants and calling valleys "bottoms."

Image: Mitch Hodiono

New Orleans, founded by the French, became a melting pot of cultures. Haitian, Irish, German, Jewish, Chinese, and Sicilian immigrants all left their mark on the city’s language and neighborhoods.

These influences shaped many local dialects, including Cajun and Yat. Yat, spoken in areas like the Ninth Ward, shares features with Brooklynese, thanks to shared Irish and Italian roots, including accents like "watah" for "water."

Image: Taylor Brandon

Probably one of the, if not the most famous, accents on the list, the Southern accent is widely recognized—think drawls and "y’all"—but it's often misrepresented by media and stereotypes.

Not everyone in the South talks the same, and terms like "Southern American English" might be more accurate than old Civil War associations.

Image: todd kent

The Boston accent is more than just dropped R’s—it reflects centuries of New England history. Brought over by British colonists, this "R-less" way of speaking evolved as settlers spread through the region.

Beyond pronunciation, locals use unique words like "wicked" and "jimmies." Vowel sounds also stand out, with distinctions in "Mary," "merry," and "marry," and broad A’s in words like "bath".

Image: Redd Francisco

Sharing some similarities with the Boston accent, the New York accent reflects the city's rich history and immigrant roots. It began with Dutch settlers, followed by London English influences, and was shaped further by Irish, Italian, and Eastern European immigrants.

Key features include dropped "r" sounds and distinct vowel pronunciations. These traits, combined with the city's diversity, helped form an accent tied closely to New York's working-class identity and cultural pride.

Image: Ryan De Hamer

The Midwestern accent, especially in the Great Lakes region, developed from New England, New York, German, and Scandinavian settlers. The Erie Canal helped spread these influences, creating a distinct way of speaking shaped by both geography and immigration.

Key traits include the Northern Cities Vowel Shift, where vowel sounds change noticeably, and regional slang like "ope," "you betcha," and "pop." These features help define the accent and identity of the Midwest.

Image: Thom Milkovic

The Pacific Northwest has its own speech quirks that set it apart from the broader West Coast dialect and the previously mentioned California accent. Locals often merge the vowels in "cot" and "caught," add an "r" to words like "Washington," and say "coast" instead of "beach."

Even highway talk can give away your roots. Saying "I-5" without "the" is typical of PNW natives, while adding "the" (as in "the I-5") is more common among Californians and other outsiders.

Image: Jakob Kim

Hawaii’s unique accent is shaped by its isolation and multicultural roots. Hawaiian Pidgin developed from plantation workers speaking Cantonese, Portuguese, Japanese, and Filipino, blending with Hawaiian to ease communication.

The dialect features dropped "r" sounds and changes like "th" to "d," with words like "three" pronounced "tree." Pidgin also reflects Hawaiian pronunciation, such as saying "hah-WAH-ee" for Hawaii and simplifying consonant clusters in everyday speech.

Image: Heidi Kaden

The Philadelphia accent, known for turning "fight" into "foit" and "very" into "vurry," is one of the world’s most unique. It developed from English, Scottish, and Irish settlers in the 1600s and grew apart from nearby accents like New York’s.

Unlike some Northern accents, Philly speech keeps the "r" sound. While regional differences exist, the accent continues to evolve. Some traits fade, but others, like "wooder" for "water," remain.

Image: aurora.kreativ

The Miami accent is a young dialect shaped by Spanish and Cuban influence after 1959. It features a rhythmic tone, unique pronunciations like "sall-mon" for salmon, and Spanish-inspired phrasing.

Common traits include calques (direct translations like "make a party") and vowel sounds influenced by Spanish. Though often mistaken for Spanglish, it’s a distinct dialect and a marker of Miami’s culture.

Image: Brad Switzer

The Yooper accent, heard in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, blends Finnish, Swedish, French Canadian, and Cornish influences. It developed through mining-era immigration and stayed distinct due to the region’s isolation.

Locals say "yah" for yes, use "d" for "th" ("dat" for "that"), and often add "eh" at the end of sentences. "Yooper," which is short for "U.P.er," became the popular nickname for residents in the 1970s.